Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Acquired by Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd

Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 27.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,673 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,423 shares during the period. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd’s holdings in Accenture were worth $4,099,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Accenture by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,070,930 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $17,726,831,000 after purchasing an additional 854,361 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,264,675 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $7,583,462,000 after purchasing an additional 129,610 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Accenture by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,471,554 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,687,867,000 after purchasing an additional 343,420 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Accenture by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,656,436 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $3,922,212,000 after buying an additional 218,719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Accenture by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,693,994 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,869,199,000 after buying an additional 546,198 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on ACN. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on Accenture from $180.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 26th. Evercore set a $180.00 price target on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Accenture from $253.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Berenberg Bank dropped their target price on shares of Accenture from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $192.96.

Accenture Trading Up 6.0%

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $147.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $153.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.99. The stock has a market cap of $98.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.13. Accenture PLC has a 1-year low of $118.15 and a 1-year high of $291.09.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.47% and a net margin of 10.66%.The firm’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.49 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. Analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

Accenture announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In related 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 value of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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.

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.