JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd Lowers Stock Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd trimmed its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 535,794 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 17,233 shares during the quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd owned about 0.08% of Accenture worth $132,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norway Savings Bank increased its stake in Accenture by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 4,123 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,232,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Accenture by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 854 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Accenture by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 4,902 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,465,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its holdings in Accenture by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 796 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 3.5% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of ACN opened at $259.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.25. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $229.40 and a 12-month high of $398.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $257.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $260.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

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

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 13th. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 53.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 5,917 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.62, for a total value of $1,459,250.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 8,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,120,685.38. This trade represents a 40.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ryoji Sekido sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.47, for a total value of $623,675.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,390 shares in the company, valued at $346,763.30. This represents a 64.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 33,319 shares of company stock worth $8,335,225. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $348.00 to $309.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Accenture from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $355.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Accenture from $325.00 to $271.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $296.83.

Accenture Company Profile

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.