Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,787 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 2,380 shares during the period. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $4,140,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new position in Accenture in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,637,640,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Accenture in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,216,850,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 2.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,129,782 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $19,466,641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315,548 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Accenture by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,147,796 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,502,446,000 after buying an additional 1,148,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Accenture in the 2nd quarter valued at $308,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ACN. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on Accenture from $300.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Accenture from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $297.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Accenture news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 1,694 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.30, for a total transaction of $488,380.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 37,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,766,851.80. This represents a 4.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Manish Sharma sold 2,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.13, for a total value of $786,883.03. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,033,333.41. The trade was a 27.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 21,674 shares of company stock worth $5,661,414 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of ACN stock opened at $280.71 on Thursday. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $229.40 and a fifty-two week high of $398.35. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $266.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $258.62. The stock has a market cap of $172.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.25.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $18.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.51 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 26.65%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.59 EPS. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. On average, analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 53.88%.

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.