Violich Capital Management Inc. Raises Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Violich Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 8.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,287 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,617 shares during the quarter. Accenture accounts for 1.0% of Violich Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Violich Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $8,455,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in Accenture in the second quarter worth about $2,658,000. C WorldWide Group Holding A S lifted its stake in shares of Accenture by 35.9% in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 2,151 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings 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 worth $130,376,000 after buying an additional 28,685 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Accenture during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,216,850,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in Accenture by 17.4% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 258,599 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $63,771,000 after acquiring an additional 38,325 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Accenture Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of ACN opened at $286.33 on Monday. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $229.40 and a 1 year high of $398.35. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $264.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $258.82. 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 $176.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.25.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $18.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.51 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 26.65%. Accenture’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.59 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ACN shares. Citigroup raised shares of Accenture to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $300.00 price objective on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $348.00 to $309.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $297.20.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.57, for a total transaction of $2,246,130.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 23,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,868,888.12. This trade represents a 27.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ryoji Sekido sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.47, for a total value of $623,675.00. Following the sale, 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. Insiders have sold 40,076 shares of company stock worth $10,256,788 over the last quarter. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.