Heritage Investors Management Corp Buys 5,366 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Heritage Investors Management Corp boosted its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 78,231 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,366 shares during the period. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in Accenture were worth $15,512,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $6,486,000 after acquiring an additional 4,905 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Accenture by 46.9% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. United Bank increased its holdings in Accenture by 49.8% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,088,000 after buying an additional 1,209 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of Accenture by 23.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 828 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Up 4.8%

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $137.40 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $165.36 and a 200-day moving average of $209.14. The company has a market capitalization of $91.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. Accenture PLC has a 52-week low of $118.15 and a 52-week high of $307.77.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.47% and a net margin of 10.66%.Accenture’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology services provider to purchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. Accenture’s payout ratio is 52.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ACN. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Accenture from $253.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price target on Accenture in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Accenture from $177.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Accenture from $199.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $258.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $195.00.

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.