Fifth Third Bancorp Sells 91,539 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Fifth Third Bancorp reduced its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 27.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 244,039 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 91,539 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Accenture were worth $48,390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rossmore Private Capital boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 21,772 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,317,000 after purchasing an additional 2,247 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Accenture by 27.1% in the 1st quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,148 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its stake in Accenture by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 6,108 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,211,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Osprey Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Accenture by 16.6% in the first quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC now owns 24,934 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,944,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Accenture by 15.8% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 163,843 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $32,488,000 after acquiring an additional 22,359 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, 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 at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on ACN. Dbs Bank downgraded Accenture from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Argus reduced their price target on shares of Accenture from $335.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. William Blair lowered shares of Accenture from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Citigroup lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Berenberg Bank reduced their price objective on shares of Accenture from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.19.

Accenture Stock Down 0.0%

ACN stock opened at $135.19 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.28 billion, a PE ratio of 10.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.13. 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 twelve month low of $118.15 and a twelve month high of $291.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $160.28 and its 200-day moving average is $203.47.

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

Accenture declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 23rd that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Announces Dividend

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 issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

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.