Pacer Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 27.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,794,695 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 389,483 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.27% of Accenture worth $355,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Accenture by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,070,930 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $17,726,831,000 after purchasing an additional 854,361 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,264,675 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $7,583,462,000 after buying an additional 129,610 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Accenture by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,471,554 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,687,867,000 after acquiring an additional 343,420 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Accenture by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,656,436 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $3,922,212,000 after acquiring an additional 218,719 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Accenture by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,693,994 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,869,199,000 after purchasing an additional 546,198 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total transaction of $1,710,964.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 17,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. This represents a 37.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACN has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. HSBC decreased their target price on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Accenture from $275.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, William Blair cut shares of Accenture from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $192.96.

Key Headlines Impacting Accenture

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UniCredit digital-transformation deal: Accenture and IBM are collaborating with UniCredit to build a next-generation European banking platform. The project reinforces Accenture’s position in large, strategic technology-transformation contracts and could support future bookings and revenue. UniCredit, Accenture and IBM Collaborate to Build Europe’s Next-Generation Banking Platform
• Positive Sentiment: AI strategy remains a potential catalyst: Coverage highlighted Accenture’s investments in artificial intelligence and its Edge business as opportunities to capture demand for AI implementation and enterprise modernization. Successful execution could improve growth prospects and sentiment toward the stock. Why Is Accenture Strengthening Its AI Strategy?
• Positive Sentiment: Deeply discounted valuation: Analysts noted that ACN trades at roughly 12 times fiscal 2026 earnings following a steep decline, with an approximately 4% dividend yield. The valuation has prompted cautious views that the market may be pricing in more permanent business damage than ultimately occurs. ACN Got Cheaper. The Business Did Not Get Worse
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling disclosed: General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares for about $1.7 million, reducing his holdings by 37.2%. Because the transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, it offers limited insight into current management expectations. Accenture Insider Trading Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Execution concerns remain: Accenture’s organic growth is weak and bookings have declined, while Capgemini’s stronger performance suggests that some of ACN’s pressure may reflect company-specific execution issues rather than industry conditions. AI initiatives are promising, but their ability to scale and expand margins remains unproven. Accenture: The Market Is Pricing In Too Much Permanent Damage

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of ACN stock opened at $166.34 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $111.08 billion, a PE ratio of 13.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $152.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $190.48. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $118.15 and a 12 month high of $291.09.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. Accenture had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The business had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. Analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

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.