Willis Investment Counsel Has $46.48 Million Stake in Accenture PLC $ACN

Willis Investment Counsel lifted its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 32.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 188,497 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 46,443 shares during the period. Accenture makes up about 2.5% of Willis Investment Counsel’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Accenture were worth $46,483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Investors Research Corp raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Accenture by 132.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Davis Capital Management acquired a new stake in Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 146.0% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ACN. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $317.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price objective 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Accenture from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. UBS Group downgraded Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $298.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total transaction of $1,008,263.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,298,380.79. This represents a 30.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.70, for a total value of $289,024.20. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 27,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,656,887.70. This trade represents a 3.64% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 16,031 shares of company stock valued at $4,509,304 over the last quarter. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $236.74 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $270.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $257.04. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $145.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.24. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $229.40 and a 52 week high of $392.02.

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

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.88%.

Accenture 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.