Accenture PLC $ACN Stock: TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Increases Stake

Key Points

• TD Waterhouse Canada increased its Accenture stake by 27.6% in the third quarter to 62,665 shares valued at approximately $10.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 75.14% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: 11 analysts rate Accenture a Buy, 14 a Hold and two a Sell, resulting in a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $219.26.
• Accenture reported quarterly revenue of $18.68 billion and EPS of $3.29, beating estimates, while also raising its dividend to $1.71 per share and maintaining a $2 billion share-repurchase authorization.

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 27.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,665 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,545 shares during the quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.'s holdings in Accenture were worth $10,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings 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 period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 120.0% in 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 buying an additional 1,899,305 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch SE acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the second quarter valued at approximately $309,873,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Accenture by 84.0% during the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,405,683 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $477,023,000 after acquiring an additional 1,097,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Accenture by 24.3% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,384,954 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $472,913,000 after acquiring an additional 466,452 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Accenture from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Accenture from $275.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "reduce" rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Accenture from $150.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on Accenture from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $219.26.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total transaction of $1,710,964.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 17,735 shares in the company, valued at $2,890,450.30. This represents a 37.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Catherine Hogan sold 700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 12th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,540,029.44. The trade was a 5.58% decrease in their position. 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 12,518 shares of company stock worth $2,124,932 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Accenture

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

Accenture Price Performance

NYSE ACN opened at $229.63 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $118.15 and a 12-month high of $291.09. The company has a market capitalization of $153.35 billion, a PE ratio of 16.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.11. The firm's 50 day moving average is $189.39 and its 200-day moving average is $174.38.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $18.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.03 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be given 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 3.0%. Accenture's payout ratio is presently 50.44%.

Accenture declared that its board has authorized 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 repurchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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