Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by C WorldWide Group Holding A S

C WorldWide Group Holding A S trimmed its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 55.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,708 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 5,835 shares during the period. C WorldWide Group Holding A S’s holdings in Accenture were worth $934,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Accenture Stock Up 5.6%

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $144.68 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 $96.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50 day moving average of $157.11 and a 200 day moving average of $199.76.

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. Accenture had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The company had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. The company’s quarterly 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. As a group, research analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program 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 buy up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value 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 represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $280.00 to $226.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $247.00 to $201.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $225.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $136.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $201.00 target price on Accenture in a report on Monday, June 8th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.19.

About Accenture

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.