Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. Buys 2,870 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,063 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,870 shares during the period. Accenture accounts for 1.5% of Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $5,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ACN. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Accenture in the 2nd quarter worth $2,658,000. C WorldWide Group Holding A S raised its holdings in Accenture by 35.9% during the second quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S now owns 8,148 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,435,000 after buying an additional 2,151 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Accenture by 7.0% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 436,202 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $130,376,000 after buying an additional 28,685 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the second quarter valued at about $2,216,850,000. Finally, Redwood Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Accenture by 6.2% during the first quarter. Redwood Investments LLC now owns 22,087 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $6,892,000 after acquiring an additional 1,287 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, insider Manish Sharma sold 6,902 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.01, for a total transaction of $1,725,569.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $465,018.60. This represents a 78.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 9,000 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.57, for a total value of $2,246,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 23,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,868,888.12. This trade represents a 27.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,319 shares of company stock worth $8,335,225. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $271.35 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $167.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.26. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $229.40 and a 1 year high of $398.35. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $256.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $261.34.

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

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 13th. Accenture’s payout ratio is 53.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ACN shares. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Accenture in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on Accenture from $300.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. UBS Group set a $320.00 price target on Accenture in a report on Friday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Accenture from $350.00 to $330.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $296.83.

About Accenture

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.