Janney Capital Management LLC Boosts Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Janney Capital Management LLC increased its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 37,823 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,648 shares during the period. Janney Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $9,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investors Research Corp increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 73.8% in the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 106 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Accenture by 132.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Davis Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 146.0% in the 3rd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 123 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Accenture in the third quarter worth about $32,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $281.13 on Tuesday. 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 has a market cap of $173.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $260.95 and its 200-day moving average is $259.24. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $229.40 and a one year high of $398.35.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $18.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.51 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.65% and a net margin of 10.76%.Accenture’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.59 EPS. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, CEO Mauro Macchi sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $140,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 7,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,134,440. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 9,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 23,516 shares in the company, valued at $5,868,888.12. The trade was a 27.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 35,151 shares of company stock valued at $8,841,525 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas Exane reduced 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. Guggenheim upped their price target on Accenture from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $295.84.

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.