Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by Carnegie Investment Counsel

Carnegie Investment Counsel trimmed its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 22.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 20,782 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 5,859 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Accenture were worth $4,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new position in Accenture during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Accenture Price Performance

Accenture stock opened at $135.19 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Accenture PLC has a 52-week low of $118.15 and a 52-week high of $291.09. The firm has a market cap of $90.28 billion, a PE ratio of 10.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50 day moving average is $160.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $203.47.

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

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is 52.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair cut shares of Accenture from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Berenberg Bank cut their target price on Accenture from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Accenture from $253.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on Accenture from $180.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Accenture from $247.00 to $201.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.19.

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.