Artemis Investment Management LLP Purchases 885,687 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 67.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,196,789 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 885,687 shares during the quarter. Accenture accounts for 3.1% of Artemis Investment Management LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Artemis Investment Management LLP owned 0.33% of Accenture worth $402,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 134.8% during the 1st quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at about $54,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new position in Accenture during the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 57.9% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 210 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Accenture by 147.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 215 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Tuesday. Berenberg Bank dropped their price target on Accenture from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Accenture from $226.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Accenture from $175.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Accenture from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $219.15.

Accenture Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of Accenture stock traded up $5.67 during trading on Thursday, hitting $202.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,133,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,972,370. The stock has a market cap of $135.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.11. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $118.15 and a 52 week high of $291.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $182.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $173.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.53% and a net margin of 11.28%.The business had revenue of $18.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.03 EPS. Accenture’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be issued a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 13th. This is a boost from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.08%.

Accenture declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 23rd that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology services provider to buy up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total transaction of $1,710,964.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 17,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. This trade represents a 37.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Company Profile

Accenture plc (NYSE: ACN) is a global professional services company that helps organizations improve performance, modernize operations and respond to technological and market changes. Its services span strategy and consulting, technology, operations, and managed services, with expertise across industries including communications, financial services, health care, public service, retail, manufacturing and resources.

The company provides digital transformation, cloud migration, data and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, systems integration and technology implementation services.