Kestra Advisory Services LLC Sells 3,720 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Kestra Advisory Services LLC has reduced its holdings in Accenture PLC by 7.4% to approximately $14.59 million, following the sale of 3,720 shares during the first quarter.
• Analyst ratings reflect a mixed outlook for Accenture, with some analysts raising target prices while others have lowered them; the consensus rating is currently a "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $358.08.
• Accenture has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.48 per share, representing a yield of 2.3%, with the dividend payout ratio sitting at 47.13%.

Kestra Advisory Services LLC lessened its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 7.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 46,748 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 3,720 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Accenture were worth $14,587,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Accenture by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $6,486,000 after acquiring an additional 4,905 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter worth approximately $317,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 37.6% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 14,874 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $5,233,000 after purchasing an additional 4,065 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC grew its holdings in Accenture by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 12,995 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $4,571,000 after buying an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Accenture by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,115 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $9,187,000 after buying an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In related news, insider Angela Beatty sold 203 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.34, for a total transaction of $57,315.02. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,249 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,482,002.66. This represents a 3.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 2,251 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.45, for a total transaction of $635,794.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 8,109 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,290,387.05. The trade was a 21.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,954 shares of company stock valued at $834,280. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ACN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $290.00 target price for the company. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Accenture in a research note on Monday, July 28th. They issued a "reduce" rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. Barclays cut their target price on Accenture from $390.00 to $360.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Accenture from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Accenture from $334.00 to $302.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $358.08.

Accenture Stock Performance

ACN traded down $1.05 on Thursday, hitting $256.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,979,448 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,540,866. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $274.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $304.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $236.67 and a 12 month high of $398.35. The firm has a market cap of $160.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.29.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The information technology services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $17.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.26 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 11.61%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.13 earnings per share. Accenture has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 12.770-12.890 EPS. Analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $1.48 dividend. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Accenture's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.13%.

About Accenture

Accenture plc, a professional services company, provides strategy and consulting, industry X, song, and technology and operation services worldwide. The company offers application services, including agile transformation, DevOps, application modernization, enterprise architecture, software and quality engineering, data management; intelligent automation comprising robotic process automation, natural language processing, and virtual agents; and application management services, as well as software engineering services; strategy and consulting services; data and analytics strategy, data discovery and augmentation, data management and beyond, data democratization, and industrialized solutions comprising turnkey analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions; metaverse; and sustainability services.