Howe & Rusling Inc. Boosts Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Howe & Rusling Inc. raised its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 89.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,940 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,280 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $10,589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ACN. Investors Research Corp raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 73.8% during the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 106 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Accenture by 132.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Davis Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Accenture during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Accenture by 146.0% in the 3rd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 123 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $241.52 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $270.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $257.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.24. Accenture PLC has a 52-week low of $229.40 and a 52-week high of $398.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced 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 net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 26.65%. The company had revenue of $18.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.59 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. Analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other news, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total value of $1,008,263.88. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.38, for a total transaction of $1,101,650.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 27,221 shares in the company, valued at $7,523,339.98. The trade was a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 16,017 shares of company stock valued at $4,505,916. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ACN shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research raised their target price on Accenture from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Argus dropped their price objective on Accenture from $370.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Accenture from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $300.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $298.38.

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.