Accenture executives sell $628K in shares; Hartline trims stake by 30.8%
CEO Mauro Macchi sold 500 Accenture shares at $280 each on January 14 for $140,000, while CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 1,694 shares at $288.30 each for $488,380. In Q3, Hartline Investment cut its holdings by 30.8%, selling 2,587 shares valued at $1.43M.
1. Insider Selling by CEO and Executives
Accenture’s CEO Mauro Macchi completed two stock sales in early January, disposing of 500 shares on January 7th and another 500 shares on January 14th for a combined value of $280,000.00. Following these transactions, Macchi’s holdings declined by 6.56% to 7,123 shares, valued at approximately $1,994,440. In parallel, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,332 shares on January 6th, trimming his position by 4.51% to 28,207 shares. Regulatory filings show that insiders have offloaded a total of 40,076 shares over the last three months, representing insider sales worth $10.26 million and 0.02% of total shares outstanding.
2. Q2 Earnings Beat and FY 2026 Guidance
In its December quarter, Accenture reported revenues of $18.74 billion, surpassing consensus expectations by $230 million and marking a 5.7% year-over-year increase. Adjusted EPS of $3.94 exceeded the Street estimate by $0.21 and compared with $3.59 a year ago. Net margin stood at 10.76% and return on equity at 26.65%. The company reiterated full-year guidance, forecasting EPS in a range of 13.52 to 13.90 for fiscal 2026, against analyst projections of 12.73.
3. Analyst Ratings and Institutional Activity
Seventeen analysts maintain buy ratings on Accenture shares, with one strong buy and eleven holds, resulting in an average consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target near $297.20. Broker reports in recent months include rating changes by Mizuho, UBS and Deutsche Bank. On the institutional front, large investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock. Notable moves in Q3 and Q4 saw positions added by Investors Research Corp, Harbor Capital Advisors and Brighton Jones, with fund stakes accumulating to millions in market value.