Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 5,758 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 0.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,046,197 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,758 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Accenture were worth $604,039,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC grew its position in shares of Accenture by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 46,540 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $9,229,000 after buying an additional 6,785 shares during the last quarter. SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new stake in Accenture during the first quarter valued at approximately $57,381,000. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Accenture by 6.3% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,805,800 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $358,072,000 after acquiring an additional 106,600 shares in the last quarter. Spartan Wealth Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Accenture in the first quarter worth $1,017,000. Finally, Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC grew its holdings in Accenture by 3.7% in the first quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 191,422 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $37,957,000 after purchasing an additional 6,863 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of ACN opened at $144.63 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $155.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $197.97. The stock has a market cap of $96.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.13. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $118.15 and a one 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.47% and a net margin of 10.66%.The business had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current year.

Accenture declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ACN. Weiss Ratings lowered Accenture from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Accenture from $247.00 to $201.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Evercore set a $180.00 price target on Accenture in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Friday, June 19th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Accenture presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $192.96.

Accenture Company 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.