Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. Has $104.65 Million Stock Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. lowered its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 51.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 424,381 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 446,029 shares during the quarter. Accenture makes up approximately 1.9% of Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $104,652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Accenture by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,129,782 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $19,466,641,000 after buying an additional 1,315,548 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Accenture by 1.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,016,605 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $8,373,925,000 after acquiring an additional 326,979 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Accenture by 1.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,042,843 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,182,331,000 after acquiring an additional 147,931 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Accenture by 12.8% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,147,796 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,502,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,148,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC bought a new stake in Accenture during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,637,640,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACN has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Dbs Bank upgraded Accenture from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Truist Financial started coverage on Accenture in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $317.00 price objective for the company. HSBC boosted their target price on Accenture from $215.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $298.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total transaction of $1,008,263.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,298,380.79. This trade represents a 30.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.70, for a total transaction of $289,024.20. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 27,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,656,887.70. This represents a 3.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of ACN opened at $223.60 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $263.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $253.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $215.16 and a twelve month high of $392.02. The firm has a market cap of $137.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.48, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.24.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $18.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.51 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 26.65%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.59 EPS. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.88%.

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.