Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Bought by Convergence Financial LLC

Convergence Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,341 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,057 shares during the quarter. Convergence Financial LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $2,080,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Accenture by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,531,231 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,295,078,000 after buying an additional 143,483 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 120.0% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,482,150 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $690,475,000 after buying an additional 1,899,305 shares in the last quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE purchased a new position in shares of Accenture in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $309,873,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Accenture by 84.0% in the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,405,683 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $477,023,000 after buying an additional 1,097,961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 24.3% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,384,954 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $472,913,000 after acquiring an additional 466,452 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other news, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $202,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,455,000. This represents a 7.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Catherine Hogan sold 1,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $264,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,556 shares in the company, valued at $2,511,200. This represents a 9.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 8,675 shares of company stock valued at $2,047,563 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Julie Sweet purchased 12,200 shares for approximately $3.0 million at an average price of $245.99, increasing her direct ownership by 33.2%. Director Paula Price separately bought 800 shares for about $199,848 at $249.81. The purchases may signal that company insiders view Accenture’s recent valuation and outlook favorably. Accenture CEO Buys $3 Million of Stock After Shares Double Off June Lows
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture won a $151 million U.S. Air Force missile-engineering contract, adding to its government-services backlog and reinforcing demand for its engineering and technology expertise. Accenture wins $151M Air Force missile engineering contract
• Positive Sentiment: The company launched a Physical AI Safety Suite with TÜV SÜD and NVIDIA for testing and certifying autonomous systems used in factories and warehouses. Its new Center of Excellence could help Accenture capture growing industrial AI implementation opportunities. Accenture Launches Physical AI Safety Suite
• Positive Sentiment: UBS initiated or reiterated a Buy rating, while a separate investment thesis highlighted potential for valuation recovery, dividend growth and continued upside relative to CTSH and IBM. Accenture Gets a Buy from UBS
• Neutral Sentiment: Accenture is among the most-searched stocks on Zacks, increasing visibility but not necessarily indicating buying demand or a change in fundamentals. Investors Heavily Search Accenture
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks identifies ACN as a long-term value stock, adding support to the view that the shares remain attractive following the company’s recent earnings beat and revenue growth. Why Accenture Is a Top Value Stock for the Long-Term

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on ACN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Accenture from $136.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Evercore set a $250.00 price objective on Accenture and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $220.00 price objective on Accenture in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Wolfe Research raised their target price on Accenture from $165.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Accenture from $150.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $221.07.

Accenture Stock Up 3.8%

ACN opened at $243.99 on Thursday. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $118.15 and a twelve month high of $291.09. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $199.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $192.72. The stock has a market cap of $144.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $18.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.03 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 26.53%. Accenture’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.03 EPS. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.44%.

About Accenture

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.