Griffin Asset Management Inc. Raises Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Griffin Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 31.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 45,165 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,706 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $8,956,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ACN. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Accenture during the third quarter worth $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Accenture during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE ACN opened at $138.93 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $118.15 and a one year high of $292.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $92.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $161.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $204.42.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACN has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson decreased their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 price target on Accenture in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Oppenheimer set a $201.00 price objective on Accenture in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on Accenture from $180.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $193.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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.