Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Accenture PLC $ACN

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 23.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,774 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,915 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $5,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ACN. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the second quarter worth $2,637,640,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,216,850,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,129,782 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $19,466,641,000 after buying an additional 1,315,548 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Accenture by 12.8% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,147,796 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,502,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,148,970 shares during the period. Finally, McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Accenture in the second quarter valued at approximately $308,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Trading Down 3.5%

Shares of ACN stock opened at $261.01 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $229.40 and a fifty-two 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $270.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $258.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.25.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.59 earnings per share. The company’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. Research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Accenture’s payout ratio is 53.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Argus decreased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $370.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $300.00 target price on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Berenberg Bank started coverage on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $313.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Accenture from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Accenture has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $298.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 1,694 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.30, for a total transaction of $488,380.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 37,346 shares in the company, valued at $10,766,851.80. The trade was a 4.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 ninety days, insiders sold 21,934 shares of company stock worth $5,965,166. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Accenture Company 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.