M&G PLC Sells 80,375 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

M&G PLC trimmed its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,245,270 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 80,375 shares during the period. Accenture comprises about 1.1% of M&G PLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. M&G PLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $227,884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ACN. IMG Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Accenture by 134.8% during the first quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Signature Equity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Accenture by 50.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Accenture by 147.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 215 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Accenture by 587.5% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 220 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Accenture from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Accenture from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $242.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut shares of Accenture from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $245.00 to $252.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $221.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total value of $2,700,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 5,996 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,618,920. This trade represents a 62.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Julie Sweet purchased 12,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $245.99 per share, with a total value of $3,001,078.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 48,910 shares in the company, valued at $12,031,370.90. The trade was a 33.23% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 18,675 shares of company stock valued at $4,747,563 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of ACN opened at $254.34 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.01. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $118.15 and a 1 year high of $291.09. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $211.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $191.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.43.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. Accenture had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 26.53%. The firm had revenue of $18.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.03 earnings per share. 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. As a group, equities analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be given a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 13th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.44%.

Accenture Company Profile

Accenture plc is a global professional services company that helps businesses, governments and other organizations solve operational and technology challenges. Its work includes strategy and management consulting, digital transformation, systems integration and the design, implementation and management of technology solutions.

The company serves clients across a broad range of industries and geographies. Its services span cloud computing, data and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, software and platforms, business process operations, and digital marketing and customer experience.

Accenture traces its roots to the consulting business of accounting firm Arthur Andersen.