First Merchants Corp Cuts Stock Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

First Merchants Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 41,910 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 2,364 shares during the quarter. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Accenture were worth $10,335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Accenture by 36.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $6,486,000 after buying an additional 4,905 shares in the last quarter. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture in the first quarter worth approximately $1,387,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in Accenture by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 19,529 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $6,094,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new position in Accenture in the 1st quarter valued at $326,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Accenture by 56.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 47,429 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $14,800,000 after purchasing an additional 17,080 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $325.00 to $271.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Accenture from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Accenture from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Truist Financial began coverage on Accenture in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $317.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Accenture from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $295.84.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $366,300.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 28,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,756,925. The trade was a 4.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 5,917 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.62, for a total value of $1,459,250.54. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 8,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,120,685.38. This represents a 40.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 34,651 shares of company stock worth $8,701,525 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $275.31 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $169.48 billion, a PE ratio of 22.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $229.40 and a 52 week high of $398.35. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $258.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $259.72.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.21. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.65% and a net margin of 10.76%.The firm had revenue of $18.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.59 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.88%.

Key Accenture News

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Accenture agreed to acquire Faculty, a UK-based AI-native services and products firm — a deal that accelerates Accenture’s AI capabilities and go-to-market for client AI transformations. Accenture to Acquire Faculty to Scale AI Capabilities
• Positive Sentiment: Truist initiated coverage with a buy rating, providing fresh analyst support that can boost investor confidence and demand. Accenture initiated with a buy at Truist
• Positive Sentiment: Partnership with NTT DOCOMO GLOBAL to launch a Universal Wallet Infrastructure highlights Accenture’s push into large-scale digital identity/data-led projects — a potential revenue and strategic growth driver. NTT DOCOMO GLOBAL and Accenture Launch Universal Wallet Infrastructure
• Neutral Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn nudged its price target slightly higher to $210 but maintained a neutral rating — the PT remains well below current levels, limiting upside from this particular update. Rothschild & Co Redburn adjusts PT
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage questioning softer public‑sector demand raises concerns about near-term consulting revenue resilience in that end market. Is Softer Public-Sector Demand Undermining the Resilience of Accenture’s Consulting Engine?
• Negative Sentiment: An insider sale: General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,332 shares (~$275 avg), trimming his stake ~4.5% — a modest negative signal though not unusually large given his remaining holdings. SEC Filing – Insider Sale

Accenture Company Profile

Accenture is a global professional services company that provides a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. The firm works with organizations across industries to design and implement business transformation programs, deploy and manage enterprise technology, optimize operations, and develop customer and digital experiences. Its offerings encompass management and technology consulting, systems integration, application and infrastructure services, cloud migration and managed services, as well as security and analytics capabilities.

The company delivers industry- and function-specific solutions, combining consulting expertise with proprietary tools, platforms and partnerships with major technology vendors.