Eastern Bank Trims Stake in Accenture PLC $ACN

Eastern Bank cut its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,571 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 2,178 shares during the period. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Accenture were worth $7,292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ACN. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,315,548 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Accenture by 1.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,016,605 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $8,373,925,000 after purchasing an additional 326,979 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Accenture by 1.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,042,843 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,182,331,000 after buying an additional 147,931 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,998,826 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,689,659,000 after buying an additional 56,108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,637,640,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Accenture news, CEO Mauro Macchi sold 500 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $140,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 7,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,134,440. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ryoji Sekido sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.47, for a total transaction of $623,675.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $346,763.30. This represents a 64.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 35,151 shares of company stock valued at $8,841,525 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Down 1.5%

Accenture stock opened at $276.61 on Wednesday. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $229.40 and a 12 month high of $398.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $261.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $259.10. 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 firm has a market cap of $170.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.86, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.25.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.21. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.65% and a net margin of 10.76%.The company had revenue of $18.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.59 earnings per share. Accenture’s 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 analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business 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 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 2.4%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is 53.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $300.00 price target on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on Accenture from $300.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Accenture from $350.00 to $330.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $295.84.

About Accenture

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.