Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Bought by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 680,832 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 98,930 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned about 0.10% of Accenture worth $167,893,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ACN. Investors Research Corp boosted its stake in Accenture by 73.8% during the 3rd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 106 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Accenture by 132.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Davis Capital Management acquired a new position in Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Accenture by 146.0% during the 3rd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 123 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Accenture Stock Up 0.5%

ACN stock opened at $208.35 on Monday. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $188.73 and a 52 week high of $359.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $128.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $254.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $251.99.

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

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th were issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is 53.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ACN. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on Accenture from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Berenberg Bank began coverage on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $313.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $266.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $296.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, insider Manish Sharma sold 2,731 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.13, for a total transaction of $786,883.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,033,333.41. The trade was a 27.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,332 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $366,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 28,207 shares in the company, valued at $7,756,925. This represents a 4.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,088 shares of company stock valued at $5,970,434. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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.