Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by Pinnacle Associates Ltd.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lowered its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 11.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,166 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 3,935 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $7,686,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Running Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 57,541 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $14,190,000 after buying an additional 7,190 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Accenture during the second quarter worth about $2,658,000. Weitz Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Accenture by 28.8% during the third quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,550 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $39,592,000 after acquiring an additional 35,900 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Accenture in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,216,850,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in Accenture by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 258,599 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $63,771,000 after purchasing an additional 38,325 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on shares of Accenture from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday. Berenberg Bank started coverage on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $313.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Accenture presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $291.69.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $209.18 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $247.40 and a 200 day moving average of $250.32. The firm has a market cap of $128.77 billion, a PE ratio of 17.29, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.28. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $188.73 and a one year high of $339.90.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $18.51 billion. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.59 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 13th. Accenture’s payout ratio is presently 53.88%.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In related news, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total transaction of $1,008,263.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,298,380.79. The trade was a 30.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total value of $1,461,130.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. This represents a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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.