D.A. Davidson & CO. Acquires 70,367 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 22.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 390,176 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 70,367 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $71,547,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 19.1% during the third quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 4,959 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $909,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board boosted its position in Accenture by 2.8% during the third quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 18,799 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $3,447,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at about $212,000. Convergence Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Accenture by 22.2% in the third quarter. Convergence Financial LLC now owns 11,341 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,057 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AMI Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Accenture by 20.5% during the third quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,827 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,902,000 after buying an additional 2,692 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Trading Up 3.8%

NYSE ACN opened at $243.99 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $144.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.99, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $199.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $118.15 and a 52 week 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $18.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.03 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 26.53%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.03 EPS. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be paid a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 13th. Accenture’s payout ratio is presently 50.44%.

Accenture News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Julie Sweet purchased 12,200 shares for approximately $3.0 million at an average price of $245.99, increasing her direct ownership by 33.2%. Director Paula Price separately bought 800 shares for about $199,848 at $249.81. The purchases may signal that company insiders view Accenture’s recent valuation and outlook favorably. Accenture CEO Buys $3 Million of Stock After Shares Double Off June Lows
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture won a $151 million U.S. Air Force missile-engineering contract, adding to its government-services backlog and reinforcing demand for its engineering and technology expertise. Accenture wins $151M Air Force missile engineering contract
• Positive Sentiment: The company launched a Physical AI Safety Suite with TÜV SÜD and NVIDIA for testing and certifying autonomous systems used in factories and warehouses. Its new Center of Excellence could help Accenture capture growing industrial AI implementation opportunities. Accenture Launches Physical AI Safety Suite
• Positive Sentiment: UBS initiated or reiterated a Buy rating, while a separate investment thesis highlighted potential for valuation recovery, dividend growth and continued upside relative to CTSH and IBM. Accenture Gets a Buy from UBS
• Neutral Sentiment: Accenture is among the most-searched stocks on Zacks, increasing visibility but not necessarily indicating buying demand or a change in fundamentals. Investors Heavily Search Accenture
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks identifies ACN as a long-term value stock, adding support to the view that the shares remain attractive following the company’s recent earnings beat and revenue growth. Why Accenture Is a Top Value Stock for the Long-Term

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Accenture from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Accenture from $150.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Accenture from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Accenture from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $221.07.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 811 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $202,750.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,820 shares in the company, valued at $2,455,000. The trade was a 7.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Paula A. Price bought 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $249.81 per share, for a total transaction of $199,848.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,361 shares in the company, valued at $2,338,471.41. This represents a 9.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 8,675 shares of company stock valued at $2,047,563 in the last three months. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.