Accenture (NYSE:ACN) CEO Sells 5,844 Shares of Company Stock

Key Points

• Accenture CEO Ryoji Sekido sold 5,844 shares at an average price of $244.84, generating approximately $1.43 million and reducing his direct holdings by 83% to 1,194 shares.
• Accenture reported quarterly adjusted EPS of $3.29 and revenue of $18.68 billion, exceeding analyst expectations; revenue increased 6.2% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.71 per share, or $6.84 annualized, representing a 2.6% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $219.52.

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) CEO Ryoji Sekido sold 5,844 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 22nd. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 83.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Accenture Price Performance

NYSE ACN traded up $18.85 during trading on Thursday, hitting $259.11. 8,291,628 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,007,351. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $118.15 and a 12-month high of $291.09. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $192.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.23. The company has a market capitalization of $173.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.11.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. The firm 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 revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.03 EPS. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders 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. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. Accenture's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Accenture

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ACN. WP Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 3.4% during the third quarter. WP Advisors LLC now owns 2,465 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. NBT Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in Accenture in the third quarter worth about $277,000. Isthmus Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 5.1% during the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 49,623 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $9,099,000 after purchasing an additional 2,429 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Accenture in the third quarter worth $266,000. Finally, Precedent Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Accenture by 60.4% in the 3rd quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 13,270 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $2,433,000 after purchasing an additional 4,999 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ACN. UBS Group set a $278.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Accenture from $175.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised Accenture from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "reduce" rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $220.00 price objective on Accenture in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Accenture presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $219.52.

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.

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.