Accenture PLC $ACN Stock Position Increased by Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC

Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 253.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,314 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,114 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $2,075,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Accenture by 134.8% during the 1st quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter worth $54,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter worth $56,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in Accenture by 57.9% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 210 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Accenture by 147.1% during the second quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 215 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of ACN opened at $208.73 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $118.15 and a 52 week high of $291.09. The stock has a market cap of $139.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Accenture Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be given a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 13th. This is an increase from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.44%.

Accenture announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology services provider to purchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on ACN. Susquehanna raised their target price on Accenture from $153.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. William Blair downgraded shares of Accenture from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Berenberg Bank cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Accenture from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $219.15.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total transaction of $1,710,964.04. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 17,735 shares in the company, valued at $2,890,450.30. This trade represents a 37.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Accenture Company Profile

Accenture plc (NYSE: ACN) is a global professional services company that helps organizations improve performance, modernize operations and respond to technological and market changes. Its services span strategy and consulting, technology, operations, and managed services, with expertise across industries including communications, financial services, health care, public service, retail, manufacturing and resources.

The company provides digital transformation, cloud migration, data and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, systems integration and technology implementation services.