Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 56.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,545 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 18,750 shares during the period. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $3,902,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 878 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Accenture by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 329 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. grew its stake in Accenture by 0.9% during the third quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. now owns 4,416 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Accenture by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC now owns 5,447 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,461,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Accenture by 1.2% during the second quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,751 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,108,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on ACN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Accenture from $210.00 to $199.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Accenture from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.85.

Accenture Price Performance

ACN stock opened at $165.84 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $155.82 and a one year high of $315.95. The stock has a market cap of $110.36 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $220.51.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The business had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.82 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Accenture

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Susquehanna cut its price target on Accenture to $186 from $222 and kept a neutral rating, adding to the cautious tone around the stock ahead of earnings. Susquehanna adjusts price target on Accenture
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies also lowered its target on Accenture to $185 from $210 and maintained a hold rating, reinforcing concerns that near-term upside may be limited. Jefferies adjusts price target on Accenture
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are waiting for Accenture’s fiscal third-quarter results on June 18, with expectations for revenue and EPS growth that could determine whether the recent weakness continues or reverses. Accenture set to report Q3 earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Accenture is also in the spotlight after Unilever said it is scaling AI-enabled digital twins across its manufacturing network with Accenture, highlighting ongoing enterprise AI work, though the announcement is not a major immediate catalyst. Unilever scales digital twins across global manufacturing network with Accenture
• Neutral Sentiment: Accenture received an award recognizing its AI innovation across its workforce, which supports the company’s AI narrative but is unlikely to move the stock on its own. Accenture award underscores AI role

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.