Capital World Investors Has $310.97 Million Stock Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Capital World Investors raised its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,159,022 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 69,897 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned 0.19% of Accenture worth $310,966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,146,995,000. Capital International Investors boosted its position in 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 third quarter valued at approximately $311,694,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Accenture by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 1,307,722 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $350,862,000 after buying an additional 969,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Accenture by 85.9% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,041,945 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $503,544,000 after buying an additional 943,371 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Accenture

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Accenture announced a new AI Adoption Maturity Model with Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute, a move that could strengthen its positioning as a trusted enterprise AI consulting partner and support future services demand. Article: Accenture and the Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute Launch AI Adoption Maturity Model to Help Organizations Scale AI with Predictable Outcomes
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at JPMorgan and TD Cowen maintained bullish ratings on Accenture despite trimming price targets, signaling continued confidence in the company’s long-term fundamentals and upside from current levels. Article: JPMorgan adjusts price target on Accenture to 201 from 247 maintains overweight rating Article: TD Cowen adjusts price target on Accenture to 258 from 282 maintains buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture’s planned acquisition of Whalar, a leading creator and social agency, suggests it is expanding capabilities in digital marketing and creator-led services, which could broaden its growth opportunities. Article: Accenture to Acquire Leading Creator and Social Agency Whalar, from Whalar Group
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary pieces emphasized Accenture as a major player in enterprise AI and highlighted its debt-free balance sheet, but these were mostly strategic overviews rather than new financial catalysts. Article: Is Accenture (ACN) Turning AI Readiness Consulting Into a Defensible Edge in Enterprise Services? Article: Accenture Plc (ACN): A Debt-Free IT Stock Expanding AI Capabilities Despite Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Accenture shares were pressured by a stock decline versus a broadly firmer market, indicating weak near-term investor sentiment around the name. Article: Accenture (ACN) Stock Falls Amid Market Uptick: What Investors Need to Know
• Negative Sentiment: A recent Truist downgrade noted concerns about constrained client budgets and competitive pressures, reinforcing worries that consulting demand may remain uneven in the near term. Article: Accenture Plc (ACN): A Debt-Free IT Stock Expanding AI Capabilities Despite Downgrade

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Accenture Stock Down 2.2%

ACN opened at $174.42 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $116.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.09. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $155.82 and a twelve month high of $321.77. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $183.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $223.76.

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

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were paid a $1.63 dividend. 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 presently 53.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ACN shares. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 1st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $247.00 to $201.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Accenture has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $260.81.

Accenture Company 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.