John Walsh Sells 3,986 Shares of Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Stock

Key Points

• CEO John Walsh sold 3,986 Accenture shares on Jan. 27 at an average price of $276.38 for about $1.10M, reducing his stake by 12.77% to 27,221 shares as disclosed in an SEC filing.
• Strong quarterly results and guidance: Accenture reported $3.94 EPS (vs. $3.73 est.) and $18.74B revenue, and set FY2026 EPS guidance of 13.520–13.900, while analysts' consensus price target is about $298 (rated "Moderate Buy").
• Dividend and market snapshot: The company declared a $1.63 quarterly dividend (annual $6.52, yield ~2.4%) with ex-dividend Jan. 13 and pay date Feb. 13; the stock traded down ~1.8% to $275.70, with a market cap around $169.7B and P/E ~22.8.

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) CEO John Walsh sold 3,986 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.38, for a total value of $1,101,650.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,221 shares in the company, valued at $7,523,339.98. This trade represents a 12.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Accenture Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of ACN stock traded down $5.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $275.70. The company had a trading volume of 2,936,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,728,268. Accenture PLC has a 1-year low of $229.40 and a 1-year high of $398.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $268.58 and a 200 day moving average of $258.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market cap of $169.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.25.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.21. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.65% and a net margin of 10.76%.The company had revenue of $18.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.59 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. Accenture's payout ratio is 53.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Wolfe Research raised their target price on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Accenture from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on Accenture from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Accenture has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $298.38.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 36.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 4,905 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Accenture by 46.9% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $618,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC purchased a new stake in Accenture during the 2nd quarter worth about $228,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its stake in Accenture by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 6,536 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 2nd quarter valued at about $233,000. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

About Accenture

Accenture is a global professional services company that provides a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. The firm works with organizations across industries to design and implement business transformation programs, deploy and manage enterprise technology, optimize operations, and develop customer and digital experiences. Its offerings encompass management and technology consulting, systems integration, application and infrastructure services, cloud migration and managed services, as well as security and analytics capabilities.

The company delivers industry- and function-specific solutions, combining consulting expertise with proprietary tools, platforms and partnerships with major technology vendors.

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