Entropy Technologies LP Makes New $6.79 Million Investment in Accenture PLC $ACN

Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 34,244 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,790,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in Accenture by 9.4% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 583,647 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $115,731,000 after purchasing an additional 50,132 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Accenture during the first quarter valued at about $24,866,000. Bollard Group LLC grew its holdings in Accenture by 0.7% during the first quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 10,235 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,029,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in Accenture by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 256,513 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $50,864,000 after acquiring an additional 2,089 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. lifted its holdings in Accenture by 21.6% in the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 6,551 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,299,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of ACN stock opened at $147.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $98.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.13. Accenture PLC has a 1-year low of $118.15 and a 1-year high of $291.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $153.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.99.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.10. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.47% and a net margin of 10.66%.The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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 Dividend Announcement

The company 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 of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on ACN shares. Oppenheimer set a $201.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a report on Monday, June 8th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 price target on Accenture in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Evercore set a $180.00 price objective on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Argus cut their target price on Accenture from $335.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $192.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value 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. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 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.