Accenture PLC $ACN Stock: GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC Increases Position

Key Points

• GRIMES & Co. Wealth Management increased its Accenture position by 44.1% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 97,622 shares valued at approximately $17.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 75.14% of the stock.
• Accenture reported quarterly revenue of $18.68 billion and adjusted earnings of $3.29 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue rose 6.2% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.71 per share, equivalent to $6.84 annually and a 2.6% yield. Analysts maintain an overall “Hold” rating, with an average price target of $221.07.

GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC boosted its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 44.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 97,622 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 29,871 shares during the quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC's holdings in Accenture were worth $17,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BOCHK Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,878,000. Signature Equity Partners LLC raised its stake in Accenture by 50.9% in the third quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. XML Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Accenture by 4.2% in the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 3,697 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $678,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in Accenture by 11.2% in the third quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 5,555 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,019,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Providence Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the third quarter worth about $239,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ryoji Sekido sold 5,844 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.84, for a total transaction of $1,430,844.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,194 shares in the company, valued at $292,338.96. The trade was a 83.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 811 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $202,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,820 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,455,000. The trade was a 7.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 8,675 shares of company stock worth $2,047,563. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Accenture Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of ACN stock opened at $261.47 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.43. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $118.15 and a fifty-two week high of $291.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.54 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.11. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $204.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.36.

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

Accenture Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is an increase from Accenture's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Accenture's payout ratio is currently 50.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ACN. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Accenture from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Accenture from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Accenture from $226.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Accenture from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $221.07.

About Accenture

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ACN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.