Advisors Asset Management Inc. Has $14.03 Million Stake in Accenture PLC $ACN

Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 6.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,875 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,558 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $14,025,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on ACN shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on Accenture from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Accenture from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Accenture from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised Accenture to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $298.38.

Accenture Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE ACN opened at $241.02 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $229.40 and a 52 week high of $392.02. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $269.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $255.72. The company has a market cap of $148.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.24.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.21. Accenture had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 26.65%. The business had revenue of $18.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.59 EPS. Accenture’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total transaction of $1,461,130.11. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,679,963.65. The trade was a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $366,300.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 28,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,756,925. This trade represents a 4.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434 in the last 90 days. 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.