The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN – Free Report) by 24.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,384,954 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 466,452 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.36% of Accenture worth $472,913,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ACN. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Accenture during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. McMillan Office Inc. bought a new stake in Accenture during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 96.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of Accenture 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.
Accenture Stock Up 4.9%
Accenture (NYSE:ACN – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current year.
Accenture declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Accenture Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.08%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
ACN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $186.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Accenture from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Oppenheimer set a $201.00 price objective on Accenture in a research report on Monday, June 8th. William Blair lowered Accenture from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $258.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $192.96.
Get Our Latest Research Report on Accenture
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.
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