ING Groep NV Boosts Stake in Accenture PLC $ACN

ING Groep NV raised its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 219.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 141,196 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 96,971 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Accenture were worth $34,819,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Investors Research Corp increased its position in Accenture by 73.8% in the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 106 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 132.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Accenture by 146.0% during the 3rd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 123 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other Accenture news, insider Manish Sharma sold 2,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.13, for a total transaction of $786,883.03. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,033,333.41. This trade represents a 27.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,332 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 28,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,756,925. This represents a 4.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 22,088 shares of company stock valued at $5,970,434. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ACN shares. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $317.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on shares of Accenture from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $298.38.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $241.02 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $269.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $255.72. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $229.40 and a 52 week high of $392.02. The company has a market capitalization of $148.37 billion, a PE ratio of 19.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.24.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $18.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.51 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.65% and a net margin of 10.76%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.59 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.88%.

Accenture Company 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.