Davis R M Inc. Sells 12,580 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Davis R M Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 27.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 33,856 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 12,580 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $6,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Accenture during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. McMillan Office Inc. acquired a new position in Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 96.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Performance

Accenture stock opened at $140.12 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $93.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.13. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $118.15 and a 12-month high of $291.09. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $154.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $196.17.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 23rd that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on ACN. Weiss Ratings downgraded Accenture from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research note on Friday, June 19th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $258.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $136.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $192.96.

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.