33,262 Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Purchased by Howard Capital Management LLC

Howard Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 240.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 47,106 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,262 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $8,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Accenture by 10.4% during the second quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 74,187 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $9,232,000 after buying an additional 7,018 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 72.4% in the second quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 19,455 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,421,000 after acquiring an additional 8,169 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,108,000. Bright Rock Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 2nd quarter worth about $7,466,000. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,628,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Accenture news, COO Catherine Hogan sold 700 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.24, for a total transaction of $149,968.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 11,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,540,029.44. The trade was a 5.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total value of $1,710,964.04. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 17,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,890,450.30. This represents a 37.18% 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. Insiders sold 12,518 shares of company stock valued at $2,124,932 in the last quarter. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Accenture News

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Accenture outlined a three-year plan targeting at least mid-single-digit revenue growth, with AI expected to become a net demand driver as clients move from pilot projects to broader implementation. The company highlighted AI-related work with UMass Memorial Health and expanded partnerships with Dell, Microsoft and Workday. Accenture Sees AI as Net Demand Driver
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture plans approximately $8 billion in fiscal 2027 acquisitions to expand cybersecurity capabilities, industry expertise and other growth areas. Investors may view the spending as a catalyst for revenue growth and deeper AI offerings, although successful integration will be important. Accenture’s $8B Acquisition Push
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts raised their price targets after the investor day, citing Accenture’s AI opportunity and multi-year growth framework. Susquehanna increased its target to $230, while TD Cowen raised its target to $201, though both maintained non-bullish ratings. Analysts Raise Price Targets
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo maintained a Hold rating, reflecting investor debate over whether AI-driven growth can offset slower consulting demand and execution risks. BNP Paribas similarly said Accenture’s positive tailwinds have not yet fully overcome existing headwinds. Accenture Tailwinds and Headwinds
• Negative Sentiment: Accenture reportedly capped employees’ monthly Claude spending at $29 after some users spent as much as $1,000. The move may signal tighter control of internal AI costs and raises questions about how aggressively the company is using AI internally, despite marketing AI transformation to clients. Accenture Caps Claude Spending

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Accenture from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Accenture from $150.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets set a $235.00 target price on Accenture in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $242.00 price target on Accenture in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Accenture from $135.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Accenture currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $219.26.

Accenture Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of ACN traded up $4.71 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $229.63. 7,485,602 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,063,213. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $189.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $153.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.93, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.11. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $118.15 and a 12-month high of $291.09.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. Accenture had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 26.53%. The company had revenue of $18.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.03 EPS. The firm’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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology services provider to buy up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be paid a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 13th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 50.44%.

Accenture Company Profile

Accenture plc (NYSE: ACN) is a global professional services company that helps organizations improve performance, modernize operations and respond to technological and market changes. Its services span strategy and consulting, technology, operations, and managed services, with expertise across industries including communications, financial services, health care, public service, retail, manufacturing and resources.

The company provides digital transformation, cloud migration, data and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, systems integration and technology implementation services.