Accenture PLC $ACN Stock Sold by Parallel Advisors LLC

Parallel Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 7.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 43,392 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 3,451 shares during the quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $7,957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ACN. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $1,295,078,000 after acquiring an additional 143,483 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 912,506 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $690,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899,305 shares during the last quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the 2nd quarter valued at $309,873,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 24.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 466,452 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Accenture News

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Accenture and Mondel?z International are applying agentic AI to redesign Mondel?z’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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ACN. Jefferies Financial Group set a $220.00 price objective on Accenture in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Accenture from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. UBS Group set a $278.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Accenture from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Evercore set a $250.00 price target on shares of Accenture and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Accenture currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $221.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Catherine Hogan sold 1,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 8th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,511,200. This trade represents a 9.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $202,750.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 18,675 shares of company stock worth $4,747,563 over the last ninety days. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $260.36 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $118.15 and a 12 month high of $291.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $153.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.01. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $18.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.03 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.53% and a net margin of 11.28%. Accenture’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.03 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.71 per share. This is a boost from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.44%.

Accenture Company Profile

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.