HM Payson & Co. Reduces Stock Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

HM Payson & Co. decreased its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 9.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 311,979 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 32,419 shares during the period. Accenture comprises 1.1% of HM Payson & Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $76,934,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldstone Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 56.0% during the 3rd quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 4,750 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,705 shares during the period. Encompass More Asset Management bought a new stake in Accenture during the third quarter valued at approximately $438,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Accenture by 14.6% during the third quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 3,277 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $808,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC raised its position in Accenture by 92.7% in the third quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 1,262 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares during the period. Finally, Three Seasons Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Accenture by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Three Seasons Wealth LLC now owns 3,636 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $897,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 5,917 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.62, for a total transaction of $1,459,250.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 8,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,120,685.38. This represents a 40.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryoji Sekido sold 2,500 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.47, for a total value of $623,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $346,763.30. This represents a 64.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,319 shares of company stock worth $8,335,225. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Susquehanna raised their target price on Accenture from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Accenture from $325.00 to $271.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Accenture from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $298.29.

Accenture Trading Up 0.4%

Accenture stock opened at $271.03 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $255.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $261.67. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $229.40 and a 1 year high of $398.35. The stock has a market cap of $166.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.40, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.26.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $18.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.51 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 26.65%. Accenture’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.59 EPS. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.88%.

Accenture Company Profile

Accenture is a global professional services company that provides a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. The firm works with organizations across industries to design and implement business transformation programs, deploy and manage enterprise technology, optimize operations, and develop customer and digital experiences. Its offerings encompass management and technology consulting, systems integration, application and infrastructure services, cloud migration and managed services, as well as security and analytics capabilities.

The company delivers industry- and function-specific solutions, combining consulting expertise with proprietary tools, platforms and partnerships with major technology vendors.