Wendell David Associates Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Wendell David Associates Inc. decreased its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,452 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 6,125 shares during the quarter. Wendell David Associates Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $5,290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ACN. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Accenture in the second quarter valued at $2,637,640,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Accenture in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,216,850,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Accenture by 2.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,129,782 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $19,466,641,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315,548 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Accenture by 12.8% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 1,148,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $308,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Accenture Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of ACN stock opened at $285.40 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a 1-year low of $229.40 and a 1-year high of $398.35. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $267.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $258.81. The firm has a market cap of $175.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.59, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.41.

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

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.88%.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In related news, CEO Mauro Macchi sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $140,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 7,123 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,994,440. This trade represents a 6.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Manish Sharma sold 2,731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.13, for a total transaction of $786,883.03. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,033,333.41. This represents a 27.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,674 shares of company stock valued at $5,661,414. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research raised their price target on Accenture from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Accenture from $350.00 to $330.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $348.00 to $309.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Accenture has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.81.

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.