Accenture PLC $ACN Stock: Greenleaf Trust Increases Position

Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 16.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 20,045 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,891 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Accenture were worth $3,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at about $235,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Accenture by 62.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 224 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $139,839,000. Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 61.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,265 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,516,000 after acquiring an additional 3,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Financial Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $223,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, COO Catherine Hogan sold 1,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $264,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 12,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,511,200. This trade represents a 9.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Paula Price acquired 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $249.81 per share, with a total value of $199,848.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 9,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,338,471.41. This trade represents a 9.34% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,675 shares of company stock valued at $2,047,563. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Performance

ACN opened at $261.47 on Tuesday. Accenture PLC has a 52-week low of $118.15 and a 52-week high of $291.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $154.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $204.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.36.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $18.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.03 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 26.53%. Accenture’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.03 EPS. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 13th. This is a positive change from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ACN shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Accenture from $210.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Accenture from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Accenture from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Accenture from $136.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $242.00 price objective on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Accenture has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $221.07.

Accenture Company Profile

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.