Alberta Investment Management Corp Takes $7 Million Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 28,400 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,003,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ACN. Investors Research Corp grew its position in shares of Accenture by 73.8% during the 3rd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 106 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Accenture by 132.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Davis Capital Management purchased a new stake in Accenture in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 146.0% in the third quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 123 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ACN shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Accenture in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $317.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $298.38.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In related news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total value of $1,461,130.11. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,679,963.65. This trade represents a 28.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total transaction of $1,008,263.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 8,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,298,380.79. This represents a 30.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434 over the last quarter. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Accenture Price Performance

Accenture stock opened at $223.60 on Thursday. Accenture PLC has a 52-week low of $215.16 and a 52-week high of $392.02. The company has a market cap of $137.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $263.92 and its 200 day moving average is $253.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.21. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.65% and a net margin of 10.76%.The firm had revenue of $18.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.59 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 13th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.88%.

Accenture 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.