Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 41.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,866 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 12,400 shares during the quarter. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $4,406,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of ACN opened at $241.52 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Accenture PLC has a 52-week low of $229.40 and a 52-week high of $398.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $270.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $257.20. The company has a market capitalization of $148.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.24.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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 Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 53.88%.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other Accenture news, COO Catherine Kiernan Hogan sold 660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.93, for a total value of $185,413.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,564,439.84. This represents a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total value of $1,008,263.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,298,380.79. This trade represents a 30.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 16,017 shares of company stock valued at $4,505,916 in the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, December 18th. UBS Group cut shares of Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial started coverage on Accenture in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $317.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Accenture from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Accenture presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.38.

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.