Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 10.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,203 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 3,936 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Accenture were worth $6,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,146,995,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Accenture by 120.0% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,482,150 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $690,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,899,305 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at $311,694,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Accenture by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,173,338 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,192,907,000 after buying an additional 1,122,855 shares during the period. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Accenture by 84.0% in the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,405,683 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $477,023,000 after buying an additional 1,097,961 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Trading Up 6.0%

NYSE:ACN opened at $147.04 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $98.20 billion, a PE ratio of 11.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50 day moving average is $153.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.99. 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.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $18.72 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current year.

Accenture announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology services provider to buy up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ACN shares. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Accenture from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Accenture from $177.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $280.00 to $226.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $225.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Twelve investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $192.96.

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.