2,724 Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Bought by Brighton Jones LLC

Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 26,482 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,724 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $4,856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ACN. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Accenture by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,531,231 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,295,078,000 after buying an additional 143,483 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in Accenture by 17.7% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 6,054,682 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,110,247,000 after buying an additional 912,506 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Accenture by 120.0% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,482,150 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $690,475,000 after buying an additional 1,899,305 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 24.3% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,384,954 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $472,913,000 after acquiring an additional 466,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 67.6% in the third quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 2,196,789 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $402,825,000 after acquiring an additional 885,687 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on ACN shares. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Accenture from $226.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Accenture from $150.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Accenture from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Accenture from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $235.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Accenture has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $221.07.

Accenture News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Accenture and Mondelēz International are applying agentic AI to redesign Mondelēz’s global order-to-cash operations, including ordering, invoicing and collections. The project showcases demand for Accenture’s AI services, though no contract value or expected revenue was disclosed. Accenture expands AI work with a major consumer goods customer
• Positive Sentiment: A valuation analysis says ACN trades at about 18 times forward earnings, below its 10-year average of 24 times, even after a strong recent rally. That could appeal to investors who see room for the valuation to recover. Accenture’s valuation analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 10,000 shares for $2.7 million, reducing his direct holdings by about 62.5%. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, so it is not necessarily a signal about his outlook for the company. Accenture CEO share sale
• Negative Sentiment: Accenture fell even as the market rose, indicating relative weakness in the session. The report describes the decline but does not point to a specific company catalyst. Accenture stock underperforms as the market gains

Insider Activity at Accenture

In related news, CEO Julie Sweet acquired 12,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $245.99 per share, for a total transaction of $3,001,078.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 48,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,031,370.90. The trade was a 33.23% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Catherine Hogan sold 1,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $264,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,556 shares in the company, valued at $2,511,200. This represents a 9.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,675 shares of company stock worth $4,747,563. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $260.36 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $153.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $210.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $191.91.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.53% and a net margin of 11.28%. The firm had revenue of $18.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.03 earnings per share. 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. Equities research analysts forecast 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 paid 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 2.6%. This is an increase from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.44%.

About Accenture

Accenture plc is a global professional services company that helps businesses, governments and other organizations solve operational and technology challenges. Its work includes strategy and management consulting, digital transformation, systems integration and the design, implementation and management of technology solutions.

The company serves clients across a broad range of industries and geographies. Its services span cloud computing, data and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, software and platforms, business process operations, and digital marketing and customer experience.

Accenture traces its roots to the consulting business of accounting firm Arthur Andersen.