Davis R M Inc. Has $6.71 Million Stock Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Davis R M Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 27.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,856 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 12,580 shares during the quarter. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $6,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter worth $2,146,995,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Accenture by 120.0% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,482,150 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $690,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899,305 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth about $311,694,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,173,338 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,192,907,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122,855 shares during the period. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 84.0% in the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,405,683 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $477,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097,961 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of ACN opened at $140.12 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $154.86 and its 200-day moving average is $196.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.13. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $118.15 and a fifty-two week high of $291.09.

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

Accenture announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 23rd that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a $1.63 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 52.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ACN shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Mizuho cut their target price on Accenture from $280.00 to $226.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Accenture from $210.00 to $185.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 15th. TD Cowen cut shares of Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $258.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Accenture from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 1st. Twelve 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $192.96.

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.