UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Purchases 11,436 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 61.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,185 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,436 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Accenture were worth $5,985,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Accenture by 42.1% during the first quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,354 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883 shares during the last quarter. Midwest Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 104.6% in the 1st quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 67,548 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $13,394,000 after purchasing an additional 34,529 shares during the period. Rossmore Private Capital increased its position in shares of Accenture by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 21,772 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,317,000 after purchasing an additional 2,247 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Accenture by 27.1% during the 1st quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,148 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 3.9% in the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 6,108 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,211,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ACN shares. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on Accenture from $180.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 26th. Oppenheimer set a $201.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research note on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $275.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Accenture from $253.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.19.

Accenture Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE:ACN traded down $3.87 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $135.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,631,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,515,054. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $160.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $203.94. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $118.15 and a 52 week high of $291.09. The company has a market capitalization of $90.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current year.

Accenture announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan 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 purchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business 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 $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.08%.

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.