Northcape Wealth Management LLC increased its Accenture PLC position by 48.7% in the third quarter, adding 3,073 shares to reach a total holding of 9,383 shares valued at approximately $2.31 million. This move follows significant new positions by Sanders Capital LLC and Norges Bank in the prior quarter, each deploying over $2.2 billion toward Accenture, while Vanguard Group boosted its stake by 2.1%, now owning more than 65 million shares worth nearly $19.5 billion. Massachusetts Financial Services also expanded its holding by 12.8%, adding over 1.1 million shares in the latest period. These shifts underscore growing confidence among major institutions, which collectively own over 75% of the company’s stock.

In its latest quarter, Accenture reported earnings per share of $3.94, surpassing analyst consensus by $0.21, on revenue of $18.74 billion, 1.3% above expectations and up 5.7% year-over-year. Return on equity stood at 26.65%, with a net margin of 10.76%. The firm confirmed full-year guidance of $13.52 to $13.90 in EPS, while independent forecasts average $12.73. Accenture declared a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share, representing an annualized $6.52 payout and a yield of 2.5%, with a payout ratio of 53.9% and an ex-dividend date of January 13.

Over the past 90 days, insiders have sold 21,934 shares valued at nearly $6.0 million, led by Manish Sharma and Joel Unruch, each reducing their holdings by roughly 28% and 4.5% respectively following share sales priced around $275 to $288. On the analyst front, 16 firms maintain Buy ratings while 12 recommend Hold and one issues Sell, yielding an average consensus of Moderate Buy. Price targets span $235 to $330, with recent adjustments from major brokers including Deutsche Bank’s increase to $280 and Wolfe Research’s lift to $330, indicating measured optimism about Accenture’s growth trajectory.