Professional Advisory Services Inc. Reduces Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Professional Advisory Services Inc. reduced its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 51,932 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 13,198 shares during the period. Accenture accounts for about 1.7% of Professional Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Professional Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $12,806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 4.4% in the second quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 854 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its position 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 valued at $1,465,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in Accenture by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its stake in Accenture by 5.2% in the second quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 857 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Omnia Family Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 5.2% in the second quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 847 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $286.33 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.25. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $265.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $258.69. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $229.40 and a 12 month high of $398.35.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $18.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.51 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.65% and a net margin of 10.76%.Accenture’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.59 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 13th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.88%.

Insider Activity

In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,332 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $366,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 28,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,756,925. The trade was a 4.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Manish Sharma sold 6,902 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.01, for a total transaction of $1,725,569.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,860 shares in the company, valued at $465,018.60. This represents a 78.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 40,076 shares of company stock worth $10,256,788 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ACN. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. 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, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $297.20.

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.