Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA Reduces Stock Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA reduced its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 12.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 44,046 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 6,180 shares during the period. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s holdings in Accenture were worth $8,734,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in Accenture by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 282,340 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $75,752,000 after buying an additional 61,314 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $37,960,000 after acquiring an additional 93,880 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 149,357 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Accenture by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,070,930 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $17,726,831,000 after purchasing an additional 854,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Accenture by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 335,314 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $89,965,000 after purchasing an additional 36,037 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Accenture News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Accenture announced a multi-million euro contract with NATO to support its Protected Business Network program, adding a high-profile government win that could strengthen near-term revenue visibility. NATO Announces Major Contract with Accenture to Help Advance Towards a More Agile and Resilient Digital Infrastructure
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture expanded its AI partnership with Google Cloud, launching “Accenture Edge” to deliver scalable agentic AI solutions for mid-market companies, which could help support future consulting and cloud services growth. Accenture Edge and Google Cloud Bring Scalable Agentic AI Solutions to Mid-Market Companies
• Positive Sentiment: The company also deepened its AI and cybersecurity push with ServiceNow, positioning itself to capture more demand for agentic AI-driven risk management and security services. Is Accenture’s Agentic AI Push With ServiceNow a Game Changer?
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and commentary note that Accenture may be trading at a discount after a steep decline, which could attract value-focused investors if its AI initiatives translate into better bookings and growth. Accenture PLC (ACN) Shares Surge 3.8% — What GF Score of 77 Tells Investors
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the new contract and partnerships, recent coverage highlights weak share performance, soft bookings, and a pressured revenue outlook, suggesting investors remain cautious about the pace of Accenture’s recovery. Accenture Down 29.3% in 3 Months: How to Approach the Stock Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Some articles also warn that Accenture’s AI push faces a major test, implying the market is still uncertain whether these initiatives will offset disruption and revive growth. Accenture (NYSE:ACN) AI Push Faces A Big Test

Accenture Stock Performance

NYSE:ACN opened at $137.29 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a 50 day moving average of $161.95 and a 200 day moving average of $205.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Accenture PLC has a 1-year low of $118.15 and a 1-year high of $304.19.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture declared that its board has initiated a stock 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 purchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Accenture from $247.00 to $201.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 8th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Accenture from $275.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $199.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, HSBC decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.33.

Accenture 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.