Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Purchases 63,130 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 26.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 300,080 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 63,130 shares during the quarter. Accenture accounts for about 2.1% of Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $59,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of Accenture by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 23,528 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,473,000 after buying an additional 3,173 shares in the last quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Accenture by 65.7% in the first quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,359 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,856,000 after acquiring an additional 3,712 shares in the last quarter. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in Accenture by 39.4% in the first quarter. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 16,848 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $3,341,000 after acquiring an additional 4,765 shares during the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its position in Accenture by 8.1% during the first quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 224,517 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $44,519,000 after purchasing an additional 16,841 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,354 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the firm’s 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Accenture Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $138.50 on Tuesday. 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 52-week low of $118.15 and a 52-week high of $291.09. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $159.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.13.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current year.

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Accenture’s payout ratio is 52.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Accenture from $270.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $180.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. William Blair lowered shares of Accenture from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research report on Friday, June 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target 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. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Accenture currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.