Accenture PLC $ACN Stock Sold by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 18.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,715 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 19,689 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $15,534,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ACN. IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 134.8% during the first quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 57.9% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 210 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 147.1% during the second quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 215 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank grew its position in Accenture by 38.0% in the 1st quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 218 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Accenture in the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Catherine Hogan sold 700 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.24, for a total transaction of $149,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 11,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,540,029.44. The trade was a 5.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total value of $1,710,964.04. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 17,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. This represents a 37.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,518 shares of company stock worth $2,124,932. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on ACN. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “reduce” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. UBS Group set a $278.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Accenture from $175.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Accenture from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research boosted their price target on shares of Accenture from $165.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Accenture presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $219.52.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $240.61 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.43. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $118.15 and a one year high of $291.09. The company’s fifty day moving average is $192.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.11.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $18.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.03 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 26.53%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.03 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. Analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.71 per share. This is a positive change from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.44%.

Accenture Profile

Accenture plc is a global professional services company that helps organizations transform their businesses through consulting, technology and managed services. Its work spans strategy and consulting, technology implementation, operations, and interactive customer experiences.

The company provides services in areas including cloud computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data and analytics, digital engineering, enterprise software, systems integration and business process outsourcing.