Hsbc Holdings PLC Raises Stock Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 77.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 843,356 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 367,163 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $226,790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $6,486,000 after buying an additional 4,905 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Accenture by 46.9% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $618,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the period. United Bank grew its holdings in Accenture by 49.8% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,088,000 after acquiring an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in Accenture by 23.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 828 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Accenture beat quarterly EPS expectations and reported 5.6% year-over-year revenue growth, showing the business is still growing despite a tougher backdrop.
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share, which may appeal to income-focused investors and signals ongoing cash-return capacity.
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture is expanding its cybersecurity push with acquisitions and investments aimed at critical infrastructure defense, which could support longer-term growth in a high-demand area. Accenture to Strengthen Critical Infrastructure Defense with End-to-End Cybersecurity Platform in Age of AI-Driven Cyber Threats and Geopolitical Risk
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts at Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and BNP Paribas lowered price targets, but many still see upside from current levels; ratings were mostly maintained at neutral or equivalent.
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Accenture drawing fresh S&P 500 attention suggests investors are reassessing whether the selloff has become excessive relative to fundamentals. Why Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Is Drawing Fresh S&P 500 Attention?
• Negative Sentiment: Management’s reduced revenue outlook is the main catalyst behind the stock’s sharp decline, as it points to weaker client spending and slower growth ahead.
• Negative Sentiment: The company’s large cybersecurity acquisition plans are also raising questions about integration risk and capital allocation during a period of slowing growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple headlines say the weak outlook has sparked a broad selloff in IT shares globally, reinforcing the market’s negative reaction to Accenture’s guidance cut. Indian IT stocks slump up to 7% as Accenture cuts revenue outlook, fueling fresh concerns over sector growth

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Trading Down 1.0%

Accenture stock opened at $126.75 on Friday. 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 market cap of $84.34 billion, a PE ratio of 10.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $176.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $218.35. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $125.60 and a one year high of $307.77.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.49 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ACN. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $177.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Accenture in a research report on Monday, June 15th. HSBC cut their price target on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Accenture from $222.00 to $186.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.19.

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.