50,385 Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Bought by Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A.

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. increased its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 34.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 194,868 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 50,385 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $35,655,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flossbach Von Storch SE acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 2nd quarter valued at $309,873,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $690,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899,305 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 6,054,682 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,110,247,000 after buying an additional 912,506 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its holdings 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 worth $402,825,000 after buying an additional 885,687 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 319.2% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,001,809 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $183,702,000 after buying an additional 762,827 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus raised their price objective on Accenture from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Deutsche Bank boosted their target price on Accenture from $136.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Accenture from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $235.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Ten 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, Accenture has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $221.07.

Accenture Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of ACN stock opened at $250.80 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.01. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $118.15 and a twelve 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $216.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $191.22.

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

Accenture Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 13th were given a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 13th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is 50.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other Accenture news, Director Paula Price bought 800 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $249.81 per share, with a total value of $199,848.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly 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. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Julie Sweet purchased 12,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $245.99 per share, with a total value of $3,001,078.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 48,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,031,370.90. This trade represents a 33.23% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 18,675 shares of company stock worth $4,747,563 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Company Profile

Accenture plc is a global professional services company that helps businesses, governments and other organizations solve operational and technology challenges. Its work includes strategy and management consulting, digital transformation, systems integration and the design, implementation and management of technology solutions. The company serves clients across a broad range of industries and geographies. Its services span cloud computing, data and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, software and platforms, business process operations, and digital marketing and customer experience.