HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 24,901 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 5.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 476,409 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 24,901 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.07% of Accenture worth $117,485,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Accenture by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,129,782 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $19,466,641,000 after buying an additional 1,315,548 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 1.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,016,605 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $8,373,925,000 after purchasing an additional 326,979 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Accenture by 1.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,042,843 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,182,331,000 after purchasing an additional 147,931 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Accenture by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,147,796 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,502,446,000 after buying an additional 1,148,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Accenture in the second quarter valued at $2,637,640,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Accenture Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $224.03 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $266.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $254.64. 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 company has a market cap of $137.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.51, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.24. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $215.16 and a 1 year high of $392.02.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.51 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.65% and a net margin of 10.76%.The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.59 EPS. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Accenture news, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.38, for a total transaction of $1,101,650.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 27,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,523,339.98. The trade was a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total transaction of $1,461,130.11. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. This trade represents a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 22,088 shares of company stock valued at $5,970,434 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ACN. Argus cut their price target on Accenture from $370.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. UBS Group downgraded Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on Accenture from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $298.38.

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.