Employees Provident Fund Board Buys Shares of 11,582 Accenture PLC $ACN

Employees Provident Fund Board bought a new position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 11,582 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,107,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,146,995,000. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 41.1% in the third 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 buying an additional 4,984,930 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at about $311,694,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,173,338 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,192,907,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the third quarter worth $268,578,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Accenture from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 1st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research note on Friday. Berenberg Bank set a $220.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Accenture currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.19.

Key Accenture News

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Accenture beat quarterly EPS expectations and reported 5.6% year-over-year revenue growth, showing the business is still growing despite a tougher backdrop.
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share, which may appeal to income-focused investors and signals ongoing cash-return capacity.
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture is expanding its cybersecurity push with acquisitions and investments aimed at critical infrastructure defense, which could support longer-term growth in a high-demand area. Accenture to Strengthen Critical Infrastructure Defense with End-to-End Cybersecurity Platform in Age of AI-Driven Cyber Threats and Geopolitical Risk
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts at Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and BNP Paribas lowered price targets, but many still see upside from current levels; ratings were mostly maintained at neutral or equivalent.
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Accenture drawing fresh S&P 500 attention suggests investors are reassessing whether the selloff has become excessive relative to fundamentals. Why Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Is Drawing Fresh S&P 500 Attention?
• Negative Sentiment: Management’s reduced revenue outlook is the main catalyst behind the stock’s sharp decline, as it points to weaker client spending and slower growth ahead.
• Negative Sentiment: The company’s large cybersecurity acquisition plans are also raising questions about integration risk and capital allocation during a period of slowing growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple headlines say the weak outlook has sparked a broad selloff in IT shares globally, reinforcing the market’s negative reaction to Accenture’s guidance cut. Indian IT stocks slump up to 7% as Accenture cuts revenue outlook, fueling fresh concerns over sector growth

Accenture Price Performance

NYSE:ACN opened at $126.75 on Friday. 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 $125.60 and a 52 week high of $307.77. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $176.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.35. The firm has a market cap of $84.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Accenture Dividend Announcement

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 5.1%. Accenture’s payout ratio is presently 53.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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.

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.