Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Bought by Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC raised its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 3.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 191,422 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,863 shares during the quarter. Accenture makes up approximately 1.3% of Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $37,957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ACN. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Accenture during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. McMillan Office Inc. acquired a new position in Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ACN shares. Argus lowered their price target on Accenture from $335.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Accenture from $177.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Accenture from $253.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Berenberg Bank dropped their target price on Accenture from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on Accenture from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.19.

Accenture Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE ACN opened at $143.56 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.13. Accenture PLC has a 52-week low of $118.15 and a 52-week high of $291.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $156.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $199.36.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.47% and a net margin of 10.66%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

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

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Accenture 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 approximately $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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.