Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Newly Acquired by Gallacher Capital Management LLC

Gallacher Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,681 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $492,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Accenture by 147.1% during the second 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 in the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Accenture by 134.8% during the 1st quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at 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. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its holdings in Accenture by 110.4% in the 2nd quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 284 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other news, CEO Ryoji Sekido sold 5,844 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.84, for a total transaction of $1,430,844.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $292,338.96. This represents a 83.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Catherine Hogan sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.24, for a total transaction of $149,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 11,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,540,029.44. This trade represents a 5.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,675 shares of company stock worth $2,047,563. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Accenture from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Evercore set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Accenture and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Accenture from $136.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Accenture from $226.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Accenture from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $221.07.

Accenture Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of ACN stock opened at $254.51 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.01. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $118.15 and a 12-month high of $291.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $205.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.19.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $18.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.03 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.53% and a net margin of 11.28%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.03 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. This is a positive change from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 50.44%.

Accenture Company Profile

Accenture plc is a global professional services company that helps organizations transform their businesses through consulting, technology and managed services. Its work spans strategy and consulting, technology implementation, operations, and interactive customer experiences.

The company provides services in areas including cloud computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data and analytics, digital engineering, enterprise software, systems integration and business process outsourcing.