Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Sells 5,512 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management decreased its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 57.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,065 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 5,512 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Accenture were worth $806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Accenture during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. McMillan Office Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on ACN. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Accenture from $186.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. William Blair downgraded shares of Accenture from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Berenberg Bank lowered their target price on Accenture from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $193.19.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $144.68 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $157.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $199.76. The company has a market cap of $96.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.13. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $118.15 and a twelve month high of $291.09.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.47% and a net margin of 10.66%.The business’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.49 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current year.

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, June 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. Accenture’s payout ratio is 52.08%.

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.