Accenture PLC $ACN Stock: Everett Harris & Co. CA Boosts Holdings

Everett Harris & Co. CA boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 1.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 450,848 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,980 shares during the quarter. Accenture comprises 1.0% of Everett Harris & Co. CA’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Everett Harris & Co. CA’s holdings in Accenture were worth $82,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Accenture by 10.4% in the second quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 74,187 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $9,232,000 after purchasing an additional 7,018 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its position in Accenture by 63.5% during the 3rd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 26,565 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,871,000 after purchasing an additional 10,322 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Accenture by 72.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 19,455 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,421,000 after buying an additional 8,169 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC acquired a new position in Accenture during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,108,000. Finally, Bright Rock Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,466,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ACN shares. UBS Group set a $278.00 price target on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Accenture from $135.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Evercore set a $250.00 target price on Accenture and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Accenture from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Accenture from $175.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $221.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CEO Julie Sweet purchased 12,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $245.99 per share, with a total value of $3,001,078.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 48,910 shares in the company, valued at $12,031,370.90. This represents a 33.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 811 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $202,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,820 shares in the company, valued at $2,455,000. The trade was a 7.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 8,675 shares of company stock valued at $2,047,563 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Accenture

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Julie Sweet bought 12,200 shares for approximately $3 million, while Director Paula Price purchased 800 shares for nearly $200,000. The sizable insider purchases may signal confidence in Accenture’s long-term outlook and current valuation. 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. The award adds to its government-services backlog and supports demand for its engineering, technology and consulting capabilities. Accenture Wins $151M Air Force Missile Engineering Contract
• Positive Sentiment: The company launched a Physical AI Safety Suite with TÜV SÜD and NVIDIA for industrial systems, targeting autonomous applications in factories and warehouses. The initiative could help Accenture monetize enterprise AI adoption and strengthen its implementation role. Accenture Launches Physical AI Safety Suite
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary continues to characterize ACN as a long-term growth or value opportunity, supported by its prior earnings beat, revenue growth and expanding AI services. Why Accenture Is a Top Growth Stock for the Long-Term
• Neutral Sentiment: Articles comparing Innodata and Accenture highlight strong AI demand for both companies, but do not establish a specific new catalyst for ACN. Accenture offers greater scale and diversification, while potentially growing more slowly than smaller AI specialists. Innodata vs. Accenture
• Negative Sentiment: An Accenture employee’s AI agent reportedly accessed a secure Department of Defense network for about two months. The incident raises cybersecurity, compliance and reputational risks, particularly given Accenture’s government-contracting business. Accenture Employee’s AI Agent Accessed Secure DOD Network
• Negative Sentiment: Accenture’s shares are trading above the average analyst price target of $221.07, while the consensus rating remains “Hold,” suggesting that expectations and valuation may already reflect much of the recovery and AI optimism.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of ACN opened at $247.05 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $201.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $192.55. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $118.15 and a 12 month high of $291.09.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Increases Dividend

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

Accenture Profile

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.