Pzena Investment Management LLC Acquires 912,506 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 17.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,054,682 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 912,506 shares during the period. Accenture accounts for 3.3% of Pzena Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned 1.02% of Accenture worth $1,110,247,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in 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 buying an additional 143,483 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Accenture by 120.0% in the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 1,899,305 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch SE purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 2nd quarter worth about $309,873,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 24.3% during the 1st 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 buying an additional 466,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP grew 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 purchasing an additional 885,687 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ACN. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Susquehanna raised their price target on Accenture from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $242.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Accenture from $150.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Accenture from $175.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Accenture presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $221.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In related news, CEO Julie Sweet purchased 12,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $245.99 per share, for a total transaction of $3,001,078.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 48,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,031,370.90. This trade represents a 33.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Catherine Hogan sold 700 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.24, for a total transaction of $149,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 11,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,540,029.44. This trade represents a 5.58% 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,675 shares of company stock valued at $2,047,563. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $264.37 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $207.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $192.07. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $118.15 and a one year high of $291.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.01.

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 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be issued a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. This is an increase from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.44%.

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.