Raymond James Financial Inc. Has $529.35 Million Stake in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. has reduced its stake in Accenture PLC by 10.5%, now holding 1,696,432 shares valued at approximately $529.35 million.
• Accenture's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $3.49, surpassing expectations, with a revenue of $17.73 billion, demonstrating a 7.7% year-over-year growth.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.48 per share, translating to an annual yield of 2.4%.

Raymond James Financial Inc. lessened its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 10.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,696,432 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 198,149 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.27% of Accenture worth $529,354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Accenture by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,814,234 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $19,912,594,000 after purchasing an additional 3,419,577 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Accenture by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 12,295,748 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $4,325,526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,770,024 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in Accenture by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,513,140 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $2,994,922,000 after purchasing an additional 181,449 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Accenture by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,582,344 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $2,667,393,000 after purchasing an additional 732,769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Accenture by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,766,369 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $2,111,378,000 after purchasing an additional 228,939 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Accenture Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Accenture stock traded down $2.4910 on Thursday, hitting $252.5590. The company had a trading volume of 1,406,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,552,246. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $236.67 and a twelve month high of $398.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $279.99 and a 200-day moving average of $308.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

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

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $1.48 per share. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Accenture's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ACN. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Accenture from $355.00 to $325.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. HSBC began coverage on shares of Accenture in a research report on Monday, July 28th. They set a "reduce" rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $395.00 target price (up from $390.00) on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Accenture from $390.00 to $360.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $330.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Accenture has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $358.08.

Accenture Profile

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.