Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Acquires 44,450 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 20.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 260,869 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,450 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $51,728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,146,995,000. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,128,134 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,223,839,000 after buying an additional 4,984,930 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $311,694,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,173,338 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,192,907,000 after acquiring an additional 1,122,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in Accenture during the third quarter valued at approximately $268,578,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Accenture

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Negative Sentiment: BNP Paribas Exane cut its price target on Accenture from $180 to $130 and kept a neutral rating, citing execution and growth risks. MarketScreener
• Negative Sentiment: DBS Bank downgraded Accenture to hold, and other coverage pointed to weaker-than-expected FY2026 guidance, adding pressure to near-term sentiment. Zacks
• Negative Sentiment: Law firms Bragar Eagel & Squire and Kirby McInerney announced investigations into possible securities issues involving Accenture, which can create headline risk for the stock. GlobeNewswire
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary argued the market may be too quick to label Accenture an “AI loser,” suggesting its AI and growth narrative may still have upside if execution improves. TipRanks
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles noted Accenture is drawing heavier trading and investor attention, reflecting debate about whether the stock can recover after a steep year-to-date decline. Yahoo Finance

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $177.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Accenture from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Friday, June 19th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $195.00.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $128.94 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $170.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.13. The stock has a market cap of $86.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.30, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $118.15 and a 12 month high of $307.77.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. Accenture had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.08%.

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.