Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Cuts Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. decreased its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 42.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,230 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 4,572 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $1,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Accenture by 36.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 4,905 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Accenture by 46.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $618,000 after buying an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. United Bank raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 49.8% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,088,000 after acquiring an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in Accenture by 23.0% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 828 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Accenture by 4.2% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Accenture Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $135.19 on Monday. 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 stock has a market cap of $90.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.80, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $160.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $203.47.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. Accenture’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current year.

Accenture declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to buy up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 4.8%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Mizuho dropped their target price on Accenture from $280.00 to $226.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Accenture from $225.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen lowered Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $258.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.19.

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.