Accenture PLC $ACN Stock: Investment House LLC Reduces Stake

Investment House LLC lowered its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 55.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 31,876 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 39,592 shares during the period. Investment House LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $5,845,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ACN. Alpine Bank Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 18.3% during the third quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management now owns 323 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,819 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Accenture by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,354 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. GS Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Accenture by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 12,415 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,462,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC now owns 4,526 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Accenture from $136.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $180.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $242.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Evercore set a $250.00 price objective on Accenture and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $219.52.

Key Accenture News

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Accenture Federal Services is partnering with Google Public Sector to develop Gemini launchpads for U.S. federal agencies. The tools are intended to help government customers integrate generative AI into mission workflows and internal operations, potentially strengthening Accenture’s federal pipeline and AI credentials. What Is Accenture Signaling With Its Federal AI Push and China Review?
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings of $3.29 per share versus a $3.18 consensus estimate and revenue of $18.68 billion versus $18.03 billion expected. Revenue rose 6.2% year over year, while strong bookings helped drive investor optimism. These 3 Stocks Surged Following Strong Quarterly Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Accenture is reviewing strategic options for its Greater China operations, including a possible divestiture. A sale could simplify the portfolio and reduce geopolitical exposure, but the review also highlights uncertainty around the region.
• Neutral Sentiment: Robert W. Baird reaffirmed its Neutral rating while raising its price target to $252 from $245. The higher target acknowledges recent momentum, but remains below the referenced trading level. Baird Downgrades Accenture to Neutral
• Negative Sentiment: Baird downgraded Accenture from Outperform to Neutral, arguing that shares had nearly doubled from their June low and that the valuation now reflects slower growth prospects. This may limit further upside unless growth accelerates. Accenture Stock Gets Downgraded as the Good News May Already Be Priced In
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Ryoji Sekido sold 5,844 shares worth approximately $1.43 million, reducing his reported ownership by 83%. Insider sales are not necessarily a signal of deteriorating fundamentals, but the transaction can weigh modestly on sentiment.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 811 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $202,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 9,820 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,455,000. This trade represents a 7.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Ryoji Sekido sold 5,844 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.84, for a total value of $1,430,844.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $292,338.96. This represents a 83.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 19,173 shares of company stock valued at $3,758,527 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Trading Up 7.8%

Shares of ACN opened at $259.11 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.11. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $118.15 and a twelve month high of $291.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.64.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $18.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.03 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 26.53%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.03 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be paid a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. This is a boost from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Accenture’s payout ratio is 50.44%.

Accenture Company 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.