HB Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stake in Accenture PLC $ACN

HB Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 13.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 117,501 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 17,707 shares during the quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $23,299,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 282,340 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $75,752,000 after purchasing an additional 61,314 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Accenture by 197.2% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 141,484 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $37,960,000 after purchasing an additional 93,880 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Accenture by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 557,516 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $149,582,000 after purchasing an additional 149,357 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Accenture by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,070,930 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $17,726,831,000 after purchasing an additional 854,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Accenture by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 335,314 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $89,965,000 after buying an additional 36,037 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Accenture Price Performance

ACN opened at $137.40 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.97, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50-day moving average of $164.30 and a 200-day moving average of $208.64. 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 1-year low of $118.15 and a 1-year high of $307.77.

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

Accenture announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ACN. Berenberg Bank decreased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Argus cut their price target on Accenture from $335.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Accenture from $253.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $201.00 target price on Accenture in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $195.00.

About Accenture

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.