Webster Bank N. A. Decreases Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Webster Bank N. A. reduced its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 35.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,587 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 5,822 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $2,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Accenture by 36.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 4,905 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Accenture by 12.6% in the first quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,736 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $854,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Accenture by 26.0% in the first quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 4,372 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,364,000 after acquiring an additional 903 shares during the period. Integrity Alliance LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the 1st quarter worth $410,000. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 113.2% in the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 4,659 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 2,474 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other Accenture news, insider Manish Sharma sold 6,902 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.01, for a total transaction of $1,725,569.02. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $465,018.60. The trade was a 78.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ryoji Sekido sold 2,500 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.47, for a total value of $623,675.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $346,763.30. The trade was a 64.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,151 shares of company stock valued at $8,841,525. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Accenture Trading Up 2.8%

Accenture stock opened at $281.52 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $173.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.25. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $229.40 and a 52 week high of $398.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $259.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $259.97.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.21. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.65% and a net margin of 10.76%.The firm had revenue of $18.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $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. Equities research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Susquehanna upped their price target on Accenture from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Wednesday. Argus decreased their target price on Accenture from $370.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Accenture in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $251.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Accenture presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.84.

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.