CenterBook Partners LP Invests $4.70 Million in Accenture PLC $ACN

CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 19,056 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,699,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ACN. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,457 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $853,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Cercano Management LLC acquired a new stake in Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Accenture by 5.6% during the third quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 279,993 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $69,046,000 after purchasing an additional 14,884 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Accenture by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 7,748 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,911,000 after buying an additional 1,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First National Bank of Omaha purchased a new position in Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $8,579,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Price Performance

ACN stock opened at $223.60 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $263.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $253.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $137.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.24. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $215.16 and a fifty-two week high of $392.02.

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

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th were paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 13th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.88%.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total transaction of $1,461,130.11. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,679,963.65. The trade was a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total value of $1,008,263.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,298,380.79. The trade was a 30.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,088 shares of company stock valued at $5,970,434. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on Accenture from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Accenture from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Accenture from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Accenture from $215.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Accenture presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $298.38.

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.