Assetmark Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 246.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 84,278 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 59,968 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $16,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at $2,146,995,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the third quarter valued at $311,694,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Accenture by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,173,338 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,192,907,000 after buying an additional 1,122,855 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in Accenture by 84.0% in the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,405,683 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $477,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097,961 shares during the period. Finally, FIL Ltd boosted its position in Accenture by 33.5% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 3,921,049 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,052,017,000 after purchasing an additional 983,840 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was 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 represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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.

Accenture Stock Performance

ACN stock opened at $143.56 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $198.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $118.15 and a one year high of $291.09. The firm has a market cap of $95.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.47, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.13.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. Accenture’s revenue for the quarter 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Accenture from $177.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. William Blair cut Accenture from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $186.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Accenture has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.