Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Acquired by Deutsche Bank AG

Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 13.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,093,932 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 369,433 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG’s holdings in Accenture were worth $830,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ACN. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Accenture by 96.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. lifted its stake in Accenture by 107.5% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 110 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Accenture

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. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Accenture from $210.00 to $199.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Accenture from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $260.81.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $173.44 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $183.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $223.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Accenture PLC has a 1-year low of $155.82 and a 1-year high of $321.77. The company has a market cap of $115.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.08.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The business had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.40%.

Key Accenture News

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary remain constructive on Accenture’s long-term outlook, citing strong demand for cloud, cybersecurity and AI services, along with support from acquisitions and expanding client engagements. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture’s launch of an AI Adoption Maturity Model with Carnegie Mellon’s SEI underscores its push to deepen enterprise AI consulting and strengthen its competitive position in AI readiness services. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several brokers maintained bullish ratings despite trimming price targets, including JPMorgan and TD Cowen, which still see meaningful upside from current levels. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Accenture announced the acquisition of creator marketing agency Whalar, a move that broadens its digital and marketing services footprint but also adds integration/execution risk. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: ACN shares have been falling recently even as the broader market rose, suggesting investors are cautious about near-term momentum and possibly digesting the impact of the Whalar deal and valuation concerns. Article Title

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.