Dividend Assets Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Accenture PLC $ACN

Dividend Assets Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 7,487 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,485,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in Accenture in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Accenture during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. McMillan Office Inc. bought a new stake in Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Accenture Stock Up 0.0%

ACN stock opened at $137.40 on Monday. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $118.15 and a twelve month high of $307.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $91.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.17.

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

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 repurchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ACN. William Blair lowered Accenture from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Accenture from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Accenture from $253.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.