Accenture PLC $ACN Position Lifted by Pzena Investment Management LLC

Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 17.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,054,682 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 912,506 shares during the quarter. Accenture makes up 3.3% of Pzena Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Pzena Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $1,110,247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ACN. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $19,454,000. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Accenture by 1.1% during the third quarter. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 18,087 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $3,317,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Accenture by 94.9% during the third quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,791 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. Integras Partners LLC boosted its position in Accenture by 2.8% during the third quarter. Integras Partners LLC now owns 12,997 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,383,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gallacher Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Accenture during the third quarter worth $492,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Julie Sweet purchased 12,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $245.99 per share, for a total transaction of $3,001,078.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 48,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,031,370.90. This trade represents a 33.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryoji Sekido sold 5,844 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 22nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $292,338.96. This trade represents a 83.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 8,675 shares of company stock worth $2,047,563 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $242.00 price target on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on shares of Accenture from $165.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $136.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Evercore set a $250.00 target price on shares of Accenture and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Accenture from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $221.07.

Accenture Price Performance

ACN opened at $264.37 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $207.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.43. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $118.15 and a 1 year high of $291.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.25 billion, a PE ratio of 19.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.01.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 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 return on equity of 26.53% and a net margin of 11.28%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.03 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 14.68 EPS 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 given a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. This is an increase from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.