Accenture PLC $ACN Stock Position Reduced by Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA

Key Points

• Loring Wolcott & Coolidge reduced its Accenture position by 16.6% in the third quarter, selling 10,940 shares and retaining 54,892 shares valued at approximately $10.1 million. Institutional investors own 75.14% of Accenture.
• Accenture exceeded quarterly expectations with $3.29 in earnings per share and $18.68 billion in revenue, up 6.2% year over year. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $1.71 per share, a 4.9% increase.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Accenture has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $219.52, while insiders have sold roughly $3.76 million of stock over the past three months.

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA lowered its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,892 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 10,940 shares during the quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA's holdings in Accenture were worth $10,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Accenture by 57.9% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 210 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Accenture by 147.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 215 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in Accenture in the 1st quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management increased its stake in Accenture by 354.0% in the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 227 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Accenture Stock Performance

ACN opened at $249.42 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $196.03 and a 200 day moving average of $175.99. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $118.15 and a fifty-two week high of $291.09.

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

Accenture Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 2.7%. This is a positive change from Accenture's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. Accenture's payout ratio is presently 50.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ACN shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $242.00 price target on Accenture in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Evercore set a $250.00 price objective on Accenture and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Accenture from $136.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Argus lifted their target price on Accenture from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $235.00 target price on Accenture in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Accenture has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $219.52.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In related news, CEO Ryoji Sekido sold 5,844 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.84, for a total value of $1,430,844.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $292,338.96. The trade was a 83.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total value of $1,710,964.04. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 17,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. The trade was a 37.18% 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 have sold a total of 19,173 shares of company stock valued at $3,758,527 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Accenture

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Accenture’s consensus price target reportedly increased 12.22% to $238.14, while a bullish analysis projects an additional 23% total return through December 2027. These updates suggest some analysts continue to see upside from the company’s AI and digital-transformation growth. Accenture consensus price target increased Accenture total return analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture Federal Services is working with Google Public Sector on Gemini launchpads for U.S. federal agencies. The initiative could expand Accenture’s government AI pipeline and reinforce its position as a generative-AI implementation partner. Accenture federal AI push
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s latest quarterly results surpassed expectations, with earnings of $3.29 per share versus $3.18 expected and revenue of $18.68 billion versus $18.03 billion expected. Revenue grew 6.2% year over year, and Accenture also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.71 per share from $1.63.
• Neutral Sentiment: Accenture is reviewing options for its Greater China business, potentially including a divestiture. A sale could reduce geopolitical exposure and simplify operations, but the review introduces uncertainty about the region’s future contribution.
• Negative Sentiment: Robert W. Baird downgraded Accenture from Outperform to Neutral, citing the stock’s sharp rebound and concern that the valuation already reflects much of the expected growth. Baird maintained a $252 price target, offering limited upside relative to recent trading levels. Baird downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Ryoji Sekido sold approximately $1.43 million of stock, reducing his direct holdings by 83%, while Chief Accounting Officer Melissa Burgum sold $202,750 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Planned sales do not necessarily signal weaker fundamentals, but the transactions may weigh on sentiment.

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.

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