Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Acquired by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 319.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,001,809 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 762,827 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned about 0.15% of Accenture worth $183,702,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ACN. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 147.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 215 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 134.8% in the first quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 110.4% in the second quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 284 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. S&G Foundation bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the second quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 57.9% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 210 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other news, COO Catherine Hogan sold 700 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.24, for a total value of $149,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 11,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,540,029.44. This trade represents a 5.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the general counsel owned 17,735 shares in the company, valued at $2,890,450.30. This represents a 37.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 12,518 shares of company stock worth $2,124,932 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:ACN opened at $239.16 on Wednesday. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $118.15 and a twelve month high of $291.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $191.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.95.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $18.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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 research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be given a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 50.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on ACN. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “reduce” rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $242.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $220.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on shares of Accenture from $165.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Accenture from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Accenture has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $219.52.

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.