LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Boosts Stock Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. raised its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 813.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 42,962 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,258 shares during the quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $8,519,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of ACN. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Accenture in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen cut shares of Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $258.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings lowered Accenture from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Accenture from $210.00 to $185.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $193.19.

Accenture Price Performance

ACN stock traded down $3.87 on Friday, reaching $135.19. The company had a trading volume of 7,631,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,515,054. The company’s fifty day moving average is $160.28 and its 200 day moving average is $203.94. The company has a market cap of $90.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $118.15 and a 1 year high of $291.09.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.47% and a net margin of 10.66%.The company had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Accenture’s payout ratio is presently 52.08%.

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 23rd that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 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.