Verus Capital Partners LLC Acquires 2,654 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Verus Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 2,654 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $487,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ACN. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Accenture by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,531,231 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,295,078,000 after purchasing an additional 143,483 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Accenture by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 6,054,682 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,110,247,000 after buying an additional 912,506 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Accenture by 120.0% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,482,150 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $690,475,000 after buying an additional 1,899,305 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Accenture by 24.3% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,384,954 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $472,913,000 after buying an additional 466,452 shares during the period. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 67.6% during the third quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 2,196,789 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $402,825,000 after buying an additional 885,687 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Down 2.4%

ACN stock opened at $254.34 on Tuesday. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $118.15 and a 52 week high of $291.09. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $211.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $191.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $150.33 billion, a PE ratio of 18.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Accenture Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 boost 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 50.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $202,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,820 shares in the company, valued at $2,455,000. The trade was a 7.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Julie Sweet bought 12,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $245.99 per share, with a total value of $3,001,078.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 48,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,031,370.90. The trade was a 33.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 18,675 shares of company stock worth $4,747,563 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Accenture from $135.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Accenture from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on shares of Accenture from $165.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Accenture from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Accenture currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $221.07.

Accenture Company Profile

Accenture plc is a global professional services company that helps businesses, governments and other organizations solve operational and technology challenges. Its work includes strategy and management consulting, digital transformation, systems integration and the design, implementation and management of technology solutions.

The company serves clients across a broad range of industries and geographies. Its services span cloud computing, data and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, software and platforms, business process operations, and digital marketing and customer experience.

Accenture traces its roots to the consulting business of accounting firm Arthur Andersen.