Capital Research Global Investors lessened its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN – Free Report) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,254,707 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 422,383 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors’ holdings in Accenture were worth $1,409,840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,070,930 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $17,726,831,000 after purchasing an additional 854,361 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 0.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,135,065 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $6,938,156,000 after purchasing an additional 118,460 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,471,554 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,687,867,000 after purchasing an additional 343,420 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,656,436 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $3,922,212,000 after purchasing an additional 218,719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,693,994 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,869,199,000 after purchasing an additional 546,198 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms recently commented on ACN. HSBC cut their price target on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Mizuho cut their target price on Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Accenture from $210.00 to $199.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $265.54.
Key Headlines Impacting Accenture
Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Accenture’s strong earnings-surprise track record and said the company has the ingredients for another beat when it next reports results, which can lift sentiment ahead of earnings. Will Accenture (ACN) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
- Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus reiterated its Buy rating on Accenture, reinforcing the view that the stock remains attractive at current levels. Stifel Nicolaus Sticks to Its Buy Rating for Accenture (ACN)
- Positive Sentiment: Accenture announced a strategic investment and partnership with AlphaSense to bring agentic AI workflows for market intelligence to enterprises, underscoring continued momentum in AI services and enterprise transformation. Accenture and AlphaSense Announce Strategic Investment and Partnership to Bring Agentic Workflows for Market Intelligence to Enterprises
- Positive Sentiment: TEPCO Solution Advance also said it is working with Accenture to reinvent operations with AI, adding another example of new client demand tied to Accenture’s AI consulting capabilities. TEPCO Solution Advance Teams with Accenture to Reinvent Operations with AI
- Neutral Sentiment: Several recent opinion pieces argued that Accenture looks undervalued on earnings and cash flow metrics, which may help investor confidence, but these were commentary rather than new fundamentals. Accenture: A 57% Drop Meets A 12.8 P/E – The Ultimate Margin Of Safety
- Neutral Sentiment: Other analysis said AI is accelerating demand rather than disrupting Accenture’s business model, supporting the long-term bull case but not changing near-term results on its own. Accenture: AI Is Accelerating Instead Of Disrupting The Consultancy
- Negative Sentiment: At least one recent valuation update trimmed Accenture’s fair value estimate and another note pointed to softer IT spending and AI competition, reflecting lingering caution around growth and margins. How The Investment Story For Accenture (ACN) Is Shifting With AI And Softer IT Spending
Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture
In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.
Accenture Trading Down 0.2%
Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $178.45 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $155.82 and a twelve month high of $321.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $184.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.75 billion, a PE ratio of 14.62, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.08.
Accenture (NYSE:ACN – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The business had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year.
Accenture Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Accenture’s payout ratio is presently 53.40%.
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.
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