2,530 Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Purchased by Pinnacle Associates Ltd.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,253 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,530 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $6,281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Accenture by 2.2% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,531,231 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,295,078,000 after acquiring an additional 143,483 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 120.0% in the first 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 acquiring an additional 1,899,305 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch SE purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the second quarter valued at $309,873,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 84.0% in the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,405,683 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $477,023,000 after acquiring an additional 1,097,961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 24.3% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,384,954 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $472,913,000 after acquiring an additional 466,452 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the general counsel directly owned 17,735 shares in the company, valued at $2,890,450.30. This trade represents a 37.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Melissa Burgum sold 811 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $202,750.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,455,000. This trade represents a 7.63% 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 sold 19,173 shares of company stock worth $3,758,527 in the last ninety days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

More Accenture News

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Accenture Federal Services is partnering with Google Public Sector to develop Gemini launchpads for U.S. federal agencies. The tools are intended to help government customers integrate generative AI into mission workflows and internal operations, potentially strengthening Accenture’s federal pipeline and AI credentials. What Is Accenture Signaling With Its Federal AI Push and China Review?
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings of $3.29 per share versus a $3.18 consensus estimate and revenue of $18.68 billion versus $18.03 billion expected. Revenue rose 6.2% year over year, while strong bookings helped drive investor optimism. These 3 Stocks Surged Following Strong Quarterly Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Accenture is reviewing strategic options for its Greater China operations, including a possible divestiture. A sale could simplify the portfolio and reduce geopolitical exposure, but the review also highlights uncertainty around the region.
• Neutral Sentiment: Robert W. Baird reaffirmed its Neutral rating while raising its price target to $252 from $245. The higher target acknowledges recent momentum, but remains below the referenced trading level. Baird Downgrades Accenture to Neutral
• Negative Sentiment: Baird downgraded Accenture from Outperform to Neutral, arguing that shares had nearly doubled from their June low and that the valuation now reflects slower growth prospects. This may limit further upside unless growth accelerates. Accenture Stock Gets Downgraded as the Good News May Already Be Priced In
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Ryoji Sekido sold 5,844 shares worth approximately $1.43 million, reducing his reported ownership by 83%. Insider sales are not necessarily a signal of deteriorating fundamentals, but the transaction can weigh modestly on sentiment.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on ACN. Argus upped their price target on shares of Accenture from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. UBS Group set a $278.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Accenture from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Accenture from $193.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $242.00 target price on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Accenture presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $219.52.

Accenture Price Performance

Accenture stock opened at $259.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market cap of $173.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $194.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.64. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $118.15 and a 1 year high of $291.09.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $18.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.03 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 26.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.03 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be paid a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. 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%.

Accenture Company 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.