Accenture PLC $ACN Stock Holdings Lessened by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

Key Points

• ZWJ Investment Counsel reduced its Accenture stake by 12.9% in the third quarter, selling 20,072 shares and retaining 135,537 shares valued at approximately $24.9 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 75.14% of the company.
• Accenture reported quarterly revenue of $18.68 billion and EPS of $3.29, exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue grew 6.2% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.71 per share and authorized a $2 billion stock-repurchase program.
• The company is expanding its AI partnerships and has set longer-term growth and margin targets, but analysts remain cautious about AI monetization and client spending; Accenture’s consensus rating is “Hold” with an average price target of $219.15.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 12.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 135,537 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 20,072 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Accenture were worth $24,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Flossbach Von Storch SE bought a new position in Accenture during the second quarter worth about $309,873,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew 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. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 84.0% in the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,405,683 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $477,023,000 after buying an additional 1,097,961 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 67.6% in the 3rd quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 2,196,789 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $402,825,000 after buying an additional 885,687 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davis Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Accenture during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $92,086,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Accenture News

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Accenture outlined multi-year growth and margin objectives through fiscal 2029. The targets give investors greater visibility into how the company expects to convert AI demand, managed services and digital transformation spending into sustained growth. Accenture mid-term growth targets
• Positive Sentiment: The company increased its quarterly dividend from $1.63 to $1.71 per share, or $6.84 annually, and completed a long-running share-repurchase program. The higher payout and buybacks may support valuation and shareholder returns. Accenture dividend hike and AI deals
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture expanded its AI relationships with Dell Technologies and Anthropic, launched a forward-deployed engineering program with Workday, and agreed to acquire Sagacity Solutions. The initiatives are intended to accelerate enterprise and agentic-AI deployments and broaden AI-driven customer intelligence services. Accenture expands AI partnerships
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $3.29 versus a $3.18 consensus and revenue of $18.68 billion versus $18.03 billion. However, the market’s reaction was tempered after an early advance, suggesting investors remain cautious about the pace of AI monetization. Accenture investor day market reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Risks include cautious client spending, pricing pressure, acquisition dependence and execution challenges. Analysts also note that the recent rally may have outpaced Accenture’s moderate underlying growth, while the consensus rating remains “Hold.”
• Negative Sentiment: COO Catherine Hogan sold 700 shares worth approximately $149,968 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transaction is relatively small and scheduled, but insider selling may weigh modestly on sentiment. Accenture insider transaction

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on ACN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Accenture from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. 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 research report on Friday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $220.00 price objective on Accenture in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $245.00 price objective on Accenture in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Accenture from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $219.15.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $214.51 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.11. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $187.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Accenture PLC has a 1-year low of $118.15 and a 1-year high of $291.09.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.03 earnings per share. Accenture's quarterly 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. On average, equities analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be issued 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 yield of 3.2%. This is a positive change from Accenture's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Accenture's payout ratio is 50.44%.

Accenture declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 23rd that authorizes the company to buy back $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to buy up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value 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. The trade was a 5.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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 Accenture stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total value of $1,710,964.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 17,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. The trade was a 37.18% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 12,518 shares of company stock valued at $2,124,932 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.