4,978 Shares in Accenture PLC $ACN Purchased by Rare Wolf Capital LLC

Key Points

• Rare Wolf Capital acquired 4,978 Accenture shares worth approximately $913,000 in the third quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 75.14% of the company.
• Accenture exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.29 in EPS and $18.68 billion in revenue, with revenue up 6.2% year over year. The board also authorized a $2 billion share-buyback program.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with an overall “Hold” rating and an average price target of $219.52. Meanwhile, Accenture raised its quarterly dividend to $1.71, representing a 2.9% annualized yield.

Rare Wolf Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,978 shares of the information technology services provider's stock, valued at approximately $913,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ACN. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Accenture by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 74,187 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $9,232,000 after acquiring an additional 7,018 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Accenture by 72.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 19,455 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $2,421,000 after purchasing an additional 8,169 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC bought a new position in Accenture during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,108,000. Bright Rock Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Accenture during the 2nd quarter worth about $7,466,000. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. bought a new position in Accenture during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,628,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total transaction of $1,710,964.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 17,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. This represents a 37.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Catherine Hogan sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,556 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,511,200. This trade represents a 9.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 12,518 shares of company stock valued at $2,124,932 in the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company restated a "reduce" rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Friday, October 2nd. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Accenture from $275.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Accenture from $175.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Argus lifted their target price on Accenture from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $252.00 target price on Accenture in a research note on Wednesday. Eleven research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $219.52.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of ACN opened at $239.16 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.11. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $118.15 and a 12 month high of $291.09. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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

Accenture declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 23rd that authorizes the company to buy back $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be issued a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. 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 is 50.44%.

Accenture 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.

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