Accenture PLC $ACN Position Increased by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 22.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 390,176 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 70,367 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $71,547,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Accenture by 2.2% during the first 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 in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Accenture by 120.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,899,305 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch SE purchased a new position in Accenture during the second quarter valued at $309,873,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 84.0% in the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,405,683 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $477,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097,961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Accenture by 24.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 466,452 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Accenture from $135.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Accenture from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Evercore set a $250.00 target price on Accenture and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Accenture from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Accenture from $210.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $221.07.

Accenture Trading Up 3.8%

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $243.99 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $144.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $199.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.72. Accenture PLC has a 1-year low of $118.15 and a 1-year high of $291.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.43.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.53% and a net margin of 11.28%. The business had revenue of $18.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.03 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. Analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 13th. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 50.44%.

Key Accenture News

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Julie Sweet purchased 12,200 shares for approximately $3.0 million at an average price of $245.99, increasing her direct ownership by 33.2%. Director Paula Price separately bought 800 shares for about $199,848 at $249.81. The purchases may signal that company insiders view Accenture’s recent valuation and outlook favorably. Accenture CEO Buys $3 Million of Stock After Shares Double Off June Lows
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture won a $151 million U.S. Air Force missile-engineering contract, adding to its government-services backlog and reinforcing demand for its engineering and technology expertise. Accenture wins $151M Air Force missile engineering contract
• Positive Sentiment: The company launched a Physical AI Safety Suite with TÜV SÜD and NVIDIA for testing and certifying autonomous systems used in factories and warehouses. Its new Center of Excellence could help Accenture capture growing industrial AI implementation opportunities. Accenture Launches Physical AI Safety Suite
• Positive Sentiment: UBS initiated or reiterated a Buy rating, while a separate investment thesis highlighted potential for valuation recovery, dividend growth and continued upside relative to CTSH and IBM. Accenture Gets a Buy from UBS
• Neutral Sentiment: Accenture is among the most-searched stocks on Zacks, increasing visibility but not necessarily indicating buying demand or a change in fundamentals. Investors Heavily Search Accenture
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks identifies ACN as a long-term value stock, adding support to the view that the shares remain attractive following the company’s recent earnings beat and revenue growth. Why Accenture Is a Top Value Stock for the Long-Term

Insider Activity at Accenture

In related news, Director Paula A. Price acquired 800 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $249.81 per share, for a total transaction of $199,848.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 9,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,338,471.41. The trade was a 9.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Catherine Hogan sold 1,320 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $264,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 12,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,511,200. The trade was a 9.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 8,675 shares of company stock worth $2,047,563 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Profile

Accenture plc is a global professional services company that helps organizations transform their businesses through consulting, technology and managed services. Its work spans strategy and consulting, technology implementation, operations, and interactive customer experiences.

The company provides services in areas including cloud computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data and analytics, digital engineering, enterprise software, systems integration and business process outsourcing.