New York State Teachers Retirement System Raises Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 536,497 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,090 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.08% of Accenture worth $106,382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at $2,146,995,000. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Accenture by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,128,134 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,223,839,000 after acquiring an additional 4,984,930 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth $311,694,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Accenture by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,173,338 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,192,907,000 after acquiring an additional 1,122,855 shares during the period. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $477,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097,961 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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.

Accenture Trading Up 4.8%

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $137.40 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $165.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $209.14. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $118.15 and a 1 year high of $307.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.14. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.49 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture declared that its Board of Directors 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 reacquire up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ACN. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 target price on Accenture in a report on Thursday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. HSBC reduced their price target on shares of Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Berenberg Bank reduced their target price on shares of Accenture from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $195.00.

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.