4,585 Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by Compass Capital Management Inc.

Compass Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 1.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 294,092 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 4,585 shares during the quarter. Accenture makes up about 3.4% of Compass Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Compass Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $53,928,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ACN. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $250,000. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $10,133,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp lifted its stake in Accenture by 1.8% in the third quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 27,945 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $5,124,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Accenture by 8.3% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 20,700 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $3,796,000 after purchasing an additional 1,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Trust bought a new position in Accenture during the third quarter valued at $147,000. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $250.80 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $216.73 and its 200 day moving average is $191.22. The company has a market cap of $148.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.50, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.01. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $118.15 and a 52 week high of $291.09.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $18.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.03 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 26.53%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.03 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th were given a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 13th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Accenture from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Accenture from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Accenture from $226.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $242.00 price objective on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $221.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Accenture news, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 811 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $202,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,820 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,455,000. This represents a 7.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Also, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,996 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,618,920. This represents a 62.52% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 18,675 shares of company stock worth $4,747,563 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

About Accenture

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.