Legal & General Group Plc Has $1.22 Billion Stock Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 4.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,951,937 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 230,641 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.75% of Accenture worth $1,221,148,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 26.8% in the third quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 11,345 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,765,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Accenture by 10.5% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,025,939 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $253,026,000 after buying an additional 97,459 shares in the last quarter. Dundas Partners LLP raised its position in Accenture by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dundas Partners LLP now owns 145,882 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $35,975,000 after buying an additional 19,285 shares during the last quarter. Nutshell Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,514,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Accenture by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 40,080 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $9,884,000 after acquiring an additional 4,144 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Stock Down 2.7%

ACN stock opened at $209.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $247.40 and a 200-day moving average of $250.32. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $188.73 and a fifty-two week high of $339.90. The company has a market capitalization of $128.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.29, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41.

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

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th were issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $317.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Accenture from $266.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $291.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. The trade was a 28.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,332 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $366,300.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 28,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,756,925. This represents a 4.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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.