BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Reduces Stock Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S cut its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 12.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 27,719 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 3,913 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Accenture were worth $7,437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 1.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 854,361 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,135,065 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $6,938,156,000 after acquiring an additional 118,460 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,128,134 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,223,839,000 after acquiring an additional 4,984,930 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,656,436 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $3,922,212,000 after acquiring an additional 218,719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Accenture by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,693,994 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,869,199,000 after buying an additional 546,198 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Accenture Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of ACN stock opened at $178.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $155.82 and a 1 year high of $321.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $184.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $224.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.75 billion, a PE ratio of 14.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.08.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The company had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s payout ratio is 53.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on ACN. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Accenture from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Accenture currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $265.54.

Trending Headlines about Accenture

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Accenture’s strong earnings-surprise track record and said the company has the ingredients for another beat when it next reports results, which can lift sentiment ahead of earnings. Will Accenture (ACN) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus reiterated its Buy rating on Accenture, reinforcing the view that the stock remains attractive at current levels. Stifel Nicolaus Sticks to Its Buy Rating for Accenture (ACN)
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture announced a strategic investment and partnership with AlphaSense to bring agentic AI workflows for market intelligence to enterprises, underscoring continued momentum in AI services and enterprise transformation. Accenture and AlphaSense Announce Strategic Investment and Partnership to Bring Agentic Workflows for Market Intelligence to Enterprises
• Positive Sentiment: TEPCO Solution Advance also said it is working with Accenture to reinvent operations with AI, adding another example of new client demand tied to Accenture’s AI consulting capabilities. TEPCO Solution Advance Teams with Accenture to Reinvent Operations with AI
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent opinion pieces argued that Accenture looks undervalued on earnings and cash flow metrics, which may help investor confidence, but these were commentary rather than new fundamentals. Accenture: A 57% Drop Meets A 12.8 P/E – The Ultimate Margin Of Safety
• Neutral Sentiment: Other analysis said AI is accelerating demand rather than disrupting Accenture’s business model, supporting the long-term bull case but not changing near-term results on its own. Accenture: AI Is Accelerating Instead Of Disrupting The Consultancy
• Negative Sentiment: At least one recent valuation update trimmed Accenture’s fair value estimate and another note pointed to softer IT spending and AI competition, reflecting lingering caution around growth and margins. How The Investment Story For Accenture (ACN) Is Shifting With AI And Softer IT Spending

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other Accenture 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 transaction of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture 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.