Accenture PLC $ACN Stock: Financial Solutions Advisory Group Inc. Reduces Holdings

Financial Solutions Advisory Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 37.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,278 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 3,794 shares during the quarter. Financial Solutions Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $1,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Accenture by 2.2% during the first 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 purchasing an additional 143,483 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Accenture by 120.0% in 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. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in 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 in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Accenture by 24.3% during the 1st 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 buying an additional 466,452 shares during the period. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its stake in shares of Accenture by 67.6% during the 3rd quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 2,196,789 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $402,825,000 after buying an additional 885,687 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on ACN. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Accenture from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $245.00 to $252.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Evercore set a $250.00 price objective on Accenture and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Accenture from $226.00 to $241.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on Accenture from $165.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $221.07.

More Accenture News

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Julie Sweet bought 12,200 shares for approximately $3 million, while Director Paula Price purchased 800 shares for nearly $200,000. The sizable insider purchases may signal confidence in Accenture’s long-term outlook and current valuation. 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. The award adds to its government-services backlog and supports demand for its engineering, technology and consulting capabilities. Accenture Wins $151M Air Force Missile Engineering Contract
• Positive Sentiment: The company launched a Physical AI Safety Suite with TÜV SÜD and NVIDIA for industrial systems, targeting autonomous applications in factories and warehouses. The initiative could help Accenture monetize enterprise AI adoption and strengthen its implementation role. Accenture Launches Physical AI Safety Suite
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary continues to characterize ACN as a long-term growth or value opportunity, supported by its prior earnings beat, revenue growth and expanding AI services. Why Accenture Is a Top Growth Stock for the Long-Term
• Neutral Sentiment: Articles comparing Innodata and Accenture highlight strong AI demand for both companies, but do not establish a specific new catalyst for ACN. Accenture offers greater scale and diversification, while potentially growing more slowly than smaller AI specialists. Innodata vs. Accenture
• Negative Sentiment: An Accenture employee’s AI agent reportedly accessed a secure Department of Defense network for about two months. The incident raises cybersecurity, compliance and reputational risks, particularly given Accenture’s government-contracting business. Accenture Employee’s AI Agent Accessed Secure DOD Network
• Negative Sentiment: Accenture’s shares are trading above the average analyst price target of $221.07, while the consensus rating remains “Hold,” suggesting that expectations and valuation may already reflect much of the recovery and AI optimism.

Accenture Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $247.05 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $118.15 and a 12-month high of $291.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $201.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $192.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Accenture Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other news, CEO Julie Sweet purchased 12,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $245.99 per share, for a total transaction of $3,001,078.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 48,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,031,370.90. The trade was a 33.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paula A. Price purchased 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $249.81 per share, for a total transaction of $199,848.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,338,471.41. The trade was a 9.34% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,675 shares of company stock worth $2,047,563. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture 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.