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

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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACN has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a report on Friday, June 19th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $280.00 to $226.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $258.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, June 22nd. HSBC cut their price target on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Dbs Bank downgraded Accenture from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $193.33.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Accenture Price Performance

NYSE:ACN opened at $138.93 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $161.18 and its 200 day moving average is $204.42. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $118.15 and a 12 month high of $292.60. The company has a market capitalization of $92.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

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

Accenture declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan 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 plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.