UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Buys 4,894 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lifted its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,587 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,894 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Accenture were worth $6,803,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investors Research Corp increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 73.8% in the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 106 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Accenture by 132.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Accenture during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Accenture by 146.0% in the third quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 123 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,332 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the general counsel owned 28,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,756,925. This trade represents a 4.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 37,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,766,851.80. This represents a 4.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,674 shares of company stock worth $5,661,414. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Performance

NYSE:ACN opened at $285.40 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $229.40 and a fifty-two week high of $398.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $267.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $258.81. The company has a market capitalization of $175.70 billion, a PE ratio of 23.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.25.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.21. Accenture had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 26.65%. The business had revenue of $18.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.59 earnings per share. Accenture’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. Research analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ACN shares. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Accenture from $348.00 to $309.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 29th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Accenture from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Accenture to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on Accenture from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $297.81.

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.