Insider Buying: Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Director Buys 800 Shares of Stock

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) Director Paula Price acquired 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $249.81 per share, for a total transaction of $199,848.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,338,471.41. This represents a 9.34% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Accenture Price Performance

ACN stock opened at $235.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $198.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $192.91. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $118.15 and a 12 month high of $291.09.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $18.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is a positive change from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63.

Institutional Trading of Accenture

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,531,231 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,295,078,000 after purchasing an additional 143,483 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Accenture by 120.0% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,482,150 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $690,475,000 after buying an additional 1,899,305 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch SE bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the second quarter valued at about $309,873,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in Accenture by 84.0% during the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,405,683 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $477,023,000 after buying an additional 1,097,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Accenture by 24.3% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,384,954 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $472,913,000 after buying an additional 466,452 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Accenture from $175.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Accenture from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Accenture from $135.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $252.00 price objective (up from $245.00) on shares of Accenture in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their target price on shares of Accenture from $165.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $221.07.

About Accenture

Accenture plc is a global professional services company that helps organizations transform their businesses through consulting, technology and managed services. Its work spans strategy and consulting, technology implementation, operations, and interactive customer experiences.

The company provides services in areas including cloud computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data and analytics, digital engineering, enterprise software, systems integration and business process outsourcing.