Swiss National Bank Buys 106,600 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,805,800 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 106,600 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Accenture were worth $358,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,146,995,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at about $311,694,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Accenture by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,173,338 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,192,907,000 after buying an additional 1,122,855 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 84.0% during 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. Finally, FIL Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 33.5% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 3,921,049 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,052,017,000 after acquiring an additional 983,840 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Performance

NYSE:ACN opened at $143.56 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $199.36. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $118.15 and a 1 year high of $291.09. The company has a market capitalization of $95.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.13.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.47% and a net margin of 10.66%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 reacquire up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Accenture Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Berenberg Bank dropped their price target on Accenture from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. HSBC lowered their target price on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, William Blair downgraded shares of Accenture from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Twelve equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $193.19.

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.