80,375 Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by M&G PLC

M&G PLC decreased its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 6.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,245,270 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 80,375 shares during the period. Accenture accounts for 1.1% of M&G PLC's portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. M&G PLC owned approximately 0.21% of Accenture worth $227,884,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. IMG Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 134.8% during the first 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. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Signature Equity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Accenture by 50.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 147.1% during the 2nd 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. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 587.5% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 220 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACN has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Accenture from $150.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Accenture from $210.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Accenture from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Argus raised their price target on Accenture from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $235.00 price objective on Accenture in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $221.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Catherine Hogan sold 1,320 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $264,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,511,200. The trade was a 9.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Julie Sweet purchased 12,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $245.99 per share, with a total value of $3,001,078.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 48,910 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,031,370.90. This trade represents a 33.23% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 18,675 shares of company stock worth $4,747,563 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $254.34 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $211.64 and a 200 day moving average of $191.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.01. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $118.15 and a 12-month high of $291.09.

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

Accenture Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be issued a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from Accenture's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Accenture's payout ratio is 50.44%.

Accenture Profile

Accenture plc is a global professional services company that helps businesses, governments and other organizations solve operational and technology challenges. Its work includes strategy and management consulting, digital transformation, systems integration and the design, implementation and management of technology solutions.

The company serves clients across a broad range of industries and geographies. Its services span cloud computing, data and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, software and platforms, business process operations, and digital marketing and customer experience.

Accenture traces its roots to the consulting business of accounting firm Arthur Andersen.

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