Summit Global Investments Buys 4,432 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Summit Global Investments increased its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 121.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,096 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,432 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Accenture were worth $1,605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. McMillan Office Inc. bought a new position in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Accenture by 96.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ACN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Accenture from $247.00 to $201.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Accenture from $275.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Oppenheimer set a $201.00 target price on Accenture in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $192.96.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $144.63 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $155.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $197.97. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $96.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.55, a PEG 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 earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.08%.

Accenture declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, June 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology services provider to purchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.