National Pension Service Raises Stock Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

National Pension Service raised its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,344,740 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 35,275 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.20% of Accenture worth $331,613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ACN. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 2.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,129,782 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $19,466,641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315,548 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Accenture by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,016,605 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $8,373,925,000 after buying an additional 326,979 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Accenture by 1.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,042,843 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,182,331,000 after buying an additional 147,931 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Accenture by 12.8% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,147,796 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,502,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,148,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the second quarter worth $2,637,640,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Accenture Stock Up 0.9%

ACN stock opened at $263.58 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $270.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $258.00. The company has a market cap of $162.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.25. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $229.40 and a fifty-two week high of $398.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41.

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

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 2.5%. Accenture’s payout ratio is presently 53.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ACN. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $300.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $313.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on Accenture from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $298.38.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other news, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.38, for a total value of $1,101,650.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 27,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,523,339.98. This trade represents a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total value of $1,008,263.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 8,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,298,380.79. This trade represents a 30.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 21,934 shares of company stock worth $5,965,166 over the last three months. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.