ING Groep NV Raises Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

ING Groep NV grew its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 163.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 371,487 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 230,291 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Accenture were worth $99,670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Weitz Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 28.8% in the third quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,550 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $39,592,000 after acquiring an additional 35,900 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 282,340 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $75,752,000 after acquiring an additional 61,314 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 180.4% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 404,680 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $99,794,000 after acquiring an additional 260,357 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 197.2% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 141,484 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $37,960,000 after acquiring an additional 93,880 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Accenture by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 557,516 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $149,582,000 after buying an additional 149,357 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the business’s 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 owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

More Accenture News

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Accenture’s strong earnings-surprise track record and said the company has the ingredients for another beat when it next reports results, which can lift sentiment ahead of earnings. Will Accenture (ACN) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus reiterated its Buy rating on Accenture, reinforcing the view that the stock remains attractive at current levels. Stifel Nicolaus Sticks to Its Buy Rating for Accenture (ACN)
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture announced a strategic investment and partnership with AlphaSense to bring agentic AI workflows for market intelligence to enterprises, underscoring continued momentum in AI services and enterprise transformation. Accenture and AlphaSense Announce Strategic Investment and Partnership to Bring Agentic Workflows for Market Intelligence to Enterprises
• Positive Sentiment: TEPCO Solution Advance also said it is working with Accenture to reinvent operations with AI, adding another example of new client demand tied to Accenture’s AI consulting capabilities. TEPCO Solution Advance Teams with Accenture to Reinvent Operations with AI
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent opinion pieces argued that Accenture looks undervalued on earnings and cash flow metrics, which may help investor confidence, but these were commentary rather than new fundamentals. Accenture: A 57% Drop Meets A 12.8 P/E – The Ultimate Margin Of Safety
• Neutral Sentiment: Other analysis said AI is accelerating demand rather than disrupting Accenture’s business model, supporting the long-term bull case but not changing near-term results on its own. Accenture: AI Is Accelerating Instead Of Disrupting The Consultancy
• Negative Sentiment: At least one recent valuation update trimmed Accenture’s fair value estimate and another note pointed to softer IT spending and AI competition, reflecting lingering caution around growth and margins. How The Investment Story For Accenture (ACN) Is Shifting With AI And Softer IT Spending

Accenture Price Performance

ACN stock opened at $178.45 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $155.82 and a one year high of $321.77. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $184.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $224.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $118.75 billion, a PE ratio of 14.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.08.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The firm had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s payout ratio is 53.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ACN. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $210.00 to $199.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $265.54.

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.