2,852 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN Bought by Guardian Partners Inc.

Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,852 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $523,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Alpine Bank Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management now owns 323 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Accenture by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,819 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Accenture by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,354 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GS Investments Inc. boosted its position in Accenture by 0.5% in the first quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 12,415 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,462,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Accenture from $135.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Accenture from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Accenture from $150.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on Accenture from $165.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Accenture presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $219.52.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Catherine Hogan sold 1,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $264,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,556 shares in the company, valued at $2,511,200. This represents a 9.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the general counsel directly owned 17,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,890,450.30. This represents a 37.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,518 shares of company stock valued at $2,124,932. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Trading Up 0.6%

ACN opened at $240.61 on Thursday. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $118.15 and a twelve month high of $291.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a fifty day moving average of $192.96 and a 200-day moving average of $175.23. The stock has a market cap of $160.68 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.11.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $18.68 billion during 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%. Accenture’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.03 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 13th. This is an increase from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.44%.

About Accenture

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.