Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Purchased by Deprince Race & Zollo Inc.

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 87,681 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 23,406 shares during the quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $21,622,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Accenture by 2.1% during the first quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Texas Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Texas Bank & Trust Co now owns 8,181 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Norway Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 4,123 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,232,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Accenture by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 854 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Accenture by 0.8% in the second quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 4,902 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,465,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Accenture news, insider Manish Sharma sold 6,902 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.01, for a total transaction of $1,725,569.02. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,860 shares in the company, valued at $465,018.60. This represents a 78.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ryoji Sekido sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.47, for a total transaction of $623,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $346,763.30. The trade was a 64.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,319 shares of company stock worth $8,335,225. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ACN. Mizuho cut their price objective on Accenture from $348.00 to $309.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 29th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on shares of Accenture from $250.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Accenture from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Accenture currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $298.29.

Accenture Stock Performance

Accenture stock opened at $271.03 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $229.40 and a 12-month high of $398.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.41. The company has a market capitalization of $166.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $255.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $262.07.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.21. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.65% and a net margin of 10.76%.The company had revenue of $18.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.88%.

Accenture Company Profile

Accenture is a global professional services company that provides a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. The firm works with organizations across industries to design and implement business transformation programs, deploy and manage enterprise technology, optimize operations, and develop customer and digital experiences. Its offerings encompass management and technology consulting, systems integration, application and infrastructure services, cloud migration and managed services, as well as security and analytics capabilities.

The company delivers industry- and function-specific solutions, combining consulting expertise with proprietary tools, platforms and partnerships with major technology vendors.