Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by Aristotle Capital Management LLC

Aristotle Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 475,096 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 13,810 shares during the period. Aristotle Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Accenture worth $94,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Accenture by 1.3% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 854,361 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Accenture by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,264,675 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $7,583,462,000 after purchasing an additional 129,610 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,471,554 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,687,867,000 after purchasing an additional 343,420 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Accenture by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,656,436 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $3,922,212,000 after purchasing an additional 218,719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Accenture by 5.4% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 546,198 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Accenture Stock Up 6.0%

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $147.04 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. Accenture PLC has a 52-week low of $118.15 and a 52-week high of $291.09. The company has a market capitalization of $98.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50 day moving average of $153.92 and a 200 day moving average of $194.99.

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

Accenture declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, June 23rd that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding 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 an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. HSBC lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $200.00 to $194.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 20th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Accenture from $186.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Accenture from $177.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Accenture from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.