Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,618,587 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 31,976 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.24% of Accenture worth $320,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Accenture during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. McMillan Office Inc. acquired a new position in Accenture during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Accenture during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Accenture Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:ACN opened at $143.56 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $156.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $199.36. 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 PLC has a 12 month low of $118.15 and a 12 month high of $291.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.87 billion, a PE ratio of 11.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.13.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. Research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program 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 buy up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given 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 4.5%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ACN. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Accenture from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. TD Cowen cut Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $258.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Accenture from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Citigroup cut their price objective on Accenture from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on Accenture from $280.00 to $226.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.