Accenture PLC $ACN Position Raised by Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 110,774 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,135 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $20,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Flossbach Von Storch SE purchased a new position in shares of Accenture in the 2nd quarter worth $309,873,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Accenture by 120.0% during 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. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in Accenture by 17.7% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 6,054,682 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,110,247,000 after acquiring an additional 912,506 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its stake in Accenture by 67.6% during the third quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 2,196,789 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $402,825,000 after acquiring an additional 885,687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Accenture by 319.2% during the third 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 acquiring an additional 762,827 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE ACN opened at $258.82 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $213.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $191.64. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $118.15 and a 52 week high of $291.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $152.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.09, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.01.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.03 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.53% and a net margin of 11.28%. Accenture’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.03 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. Equities research 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 will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is a positive change from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Accenture news, COO Catherine Hogan sold 1,320 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $264,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,556 shares in the company, valued at $2,511,200. The trade was a 9.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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, CEO Ryoji Sekido sold 5,844 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.84, for a total value of $1,430,844.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $292,338.96. The trade was a 83.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,675 shares of company stock worth $4,747,563. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

More Accenture News

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Accenture is working with Qantas to modernize its operations, providing evidence of continued demand for its transformation services. Qantas said the program will involve cutting 850 jobs over the coming years; the reductions are at Qantas, not Accenture. Reuters: Australia’s Qantas to axe 850 jobs in offshoring deal with Accenture
• Positive Sentiment: A WSIB digital modernization project involving Accenture reduced employer registration from eight to ten business days to under ten minutes. The result offers a concrete example of Accenture’s ability to deliver cloud-based transformation and could help support future client sales. Ontario WSIB project announcement
• Positive Sentiment: U.S. management and technical consulting employment rose by 17,300 in October, its biggest monthly increase since December 2024. The gain may indicate improving demand for consulting services, although it does not guarantee higher spending at Accenture. The Overlooked AI Trade Hiding in a Beaten-Down Corner of the Market
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent comparisons describe Accenture as a large, profitable company with strong cash generation, but note that its revenue has fluctuated while some software peers have shown steadier growth. These comparisons highlight competitive strengths and trade-offs rather than a new change in the company’s outlook. Accenture vs. Adobe comparison
• Neutral Sentiment: The Qantas job cuts may draw scrutiny because the modernization arrangement includes offshoring, though the reporting does not indicate a direct financial or operational cost to Accenture. Qantas to Cut 850 Jobs After Tech Deal With Accenture

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ACN. Jefferies Financial Group set a $220.00 price objective on Accenture in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Accenture from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore set a $250.00 target price on shares of Accenture and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Accenture from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $221.07.

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.