Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Bought by Sanders Capital LLC

Sanders Capital LLC lifted its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 9.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,615,366 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 790,580 shares during the period. Accenture comprises 2.9% of Sanders Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Sanders Capital LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $2,371,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 2.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,129,782 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $19,466,641,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315,548 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,016,605 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $8,373,925,000 after purchasing an additional 326,979 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 4,984,930 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Accenture by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,147,796 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,502,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Accenture during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,216,850,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of ACN stock opened at $196.41 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $188.73 and a 12 month high of $326.73. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $241.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $248.78. The firm has a market cap of $120.91 billion, a PE ratio of 16.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.27. 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.21. Accenture had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 26.65%. The business had revenue of $18.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.59 earnings per share. The firm’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. Equities research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th were given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 53.88%.

More Accenture News

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Udacity (part of Accenture) launched an accredited MBA program aimed at training AI product leaders — a revenue/brand-positive move that strengthens Accenture’s talent pipeline and positioning in AI services. Udacity, Part of Accenture, Launches Accredited MBA to Train the Next Generation of AI Product Leaders
• Positive Sentiment: Investor research argues Accenture is well-placed to benefit from AI implementation contracts, highlighting upside from rising enterprise AI spend — a bullish narrative for medium-term revenue growth. Accenture (ACN) is Poised to Benefit from AI Implementation Contracts
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture expanded its Google Cloud partnership to help clients strengthen cloud security — a direct revenue-opportunity in managed security and cloud transformation services. Accenture Helps Organizations Strengthen Cloud Security with Google Cloud
• Positive Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha piece argues Accenture may be undervalued after prior overvaluation, presenting a valuation-based bullish case for long-term investors. Accenture: Undervalued After Years Of Overvaluation
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks previews Accenture’s upcoming earnings and suggests the company may not have the setup for an earnings beat, signaling investor caution into the report. Accenture (ACN) Earnings Expected to Grow: Should You Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Reminder: Accenture is projected to post quarterly earnings this week, a scheduled catalyst that could swing the stock depending on guidance and margins. Accenture (ACN) Projected to Post Earnings on Thursday
• Negative Sentiment: Truist cut its price target on ACN to $260 (from $317) and warned of pressure on long-term estimates after its enterprise-AI checks — the downgrade dampens sentiment despite a maintained Buy rating. Truist Financial Cuts Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Price Target to $260.00 Truist Lowers Accenture (ACN) Target to $260, Warns of Pressure on Long-Term Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Guggenheim lowered its price target on Accenture to $275, adding to analyst-driven downward pressure on the stock in the run-up to earnings. Guggenheim Lowers Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Price Target to $275.00

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other Accenture news, COO Catherine Kiernan Hogan sold 660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.93, for a total transaction of $185,413.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 12,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,564,439.84. The trade was a 4.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. The trade was a 28.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 22,088 shares of company stock valued at $5,970,434 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ACN. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Accenture from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Accenture from $215.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price target on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group lowered Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Accenture currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $288.35.

About Accenture

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.