8,936 Shares in Accenture PLC $ACN Purchased by Slow Capital Inc.

Slow Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 8,936 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,639,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Accenture by 147.1% in the second quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 215 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 134.8% during the 1st quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 110.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 284 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. S&G Foundation purchased a new position in shares of Accenture in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 57.9% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 210 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 sale, the general counsel owned 17,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,890,450.30. This trade represents a 37.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Ryoji Sekido sold 5,844 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.84, for a total transaction of $1,430,844.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,194 shares in the company, valued at $292,338.96. This represents a 83.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 19,173 shares of company stock worth $3,758,527 in the last ninety days. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Accenture News

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Accenture’s consensus price target reportedly increased 12.22% to $238.14, while a bullish analysis projects an additional 23% total return through December 2027. These updates suggest some analysts continue to see upside from the company’s AI and digital-transformation growth. Accenture consensus price target increased Accenture total return analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture Federal Services is working with Google Public Sector on Gemini launchpads for U.S. federal agencies. The initiative could expand Accenture’s government AI pipeline and reinforce its position as a generative-AI implementation partner. Accenture federal AI push
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s latest quarterly results surpassed expectations, with earnings of $3.29 per share versus $3.18 expected and revenue of $18.68 billion versus $18.03 billion expected. Revenue grew 6.2% year over year, and Accenture also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.71 per share from $1.63.
• Neutral Sentiment: Accenture is reviewing options for its Greater China business, potentially including a divestiture. A sale could reduce geopolitical exposure and simplify operations, but the review introduces uncertainty about the region’s future contribution.
• Negative Sentiment: Robert W. Baird downgraded Accenture from Outperform to Neutral, citing the stock’s sharp rebound and concern that the valuation already reflects much of the expected growth. Baird maintained a $252 price target, offering limited upside relative to recent trading levels. Baird downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Ryoji Sekido sold approximately $1.43 million of stock, reducing his direct holdings by 83%, while Chief Accounting Officer Melissa Burgum sold $202,750 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Planned sales do not necessarily signal weaker fundamentals, but the transactions may weigh on sentiment.

Accenture Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $249.42 on Monday. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $118.15 and a 1 year high of $291.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $196.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.99. The company has a market capitalization of $147.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Accenture Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. This is an increase from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is 50.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on ACN. Evercore set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Accenture and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Accenture from $193.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Accenture from $150.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on Accenture from $135.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a “reduce” rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $219.52.

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.