Accenture PLC $ACN Stock: Kestra Advisory Services LLC Grows Position

Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,371 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,816 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $18,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Flossbach Von Storch SE purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the second quarter worth approximately $309,873,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Accenture by 120.0% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,482,150 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $690,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899,305 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Accenture by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 6,054,682 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,110,247,000 after purchasing an additional 912,506 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its position in Accenture by 67.6% during the 3rd quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 2,196,789 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $402,825,000 after purchasing an additional 885,687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in Accenture by 319.2% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 762,827 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total transaction of $2,700,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,996 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,618,920. The trade was a 62.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Paula Price purchased 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $249.81 per share, for a total transaction of $199,848.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 9,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,338,471.41. This trade represents a 9.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,675 shares of company stock worth $4,747,563. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Accenture Stock Performance

NYSE ACN opened at $260.36 on Monday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $210.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $191.91. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $118.15 and a 12-month high of $291.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.20, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.01.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.53% and a net margin of 11.28%. The business had revenue of $18.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. Research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 14.68 EPS for the current 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 $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis 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 dividend payout ratio is 50.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on ACN. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Accenture from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets set a $235.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Accenture from $175.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $242.00 price target on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Accenture from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $221.07.

Key Headlines Impacting Accenture

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Accenture and Mondelēz International are applying agentic AI to redesign Mondelēz’s global order-to-cash operations, including ordering, invoicing and collections. The project showcases demand for Accenture’s AI services, though no contract value or expected revenue was disclosed. Accenture expands AI work with a major consumer goods customer
• Positive Sentiment: A valuation analysis says ACN trades at about 18 times forward earnings, below its 10-year average of 24 times, even after a strong recent rally. That could appeal to investors who see room for the valuation to recover. Accenture’s valuation analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 10,000 shares for $2.7 million, reducing his direct holdings by about 62.5%. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, so it is not necessarily a signal about his outlook for the company. Accenture CEO share sale
• Negative Sentiment: Accenture fell even as the market rose, indicating relative weakness in the session. The report describes the decline but does not point to a specific company catalyst. Accenture stock underperforms as the market gains

About Accenture

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.

Accenture traces its roots to the consulting business of accounting firm Arthur Andersen.