Accenture PLC $ACN Stock Position Decreased by Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE lowered its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 49.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,205 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 26,815 shares during the period. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Accenture were worth $5,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Twin City Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the first quarter valued at $462,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its position in Accenture by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 123,508 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $24,490,000 after purchasing an additional 20,228 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Accenture during the 1st quarter valued at about $76,000. USS Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Accenture by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 109,260 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $21,654,000 after purchasing an additional 3,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 5.3% in the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 132,531 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $26,280,000 after purchasing an additional 6,642 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ACN shares. TD Cowen cut Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $258.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $210.00 to $185.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 15th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Accenture from $225.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $195.00.

Key Headlines Impacting Accenture

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Accenture was named an inaugural AI Specialization partner by NiCE, reinforcing its push to move from AI hype to real enterprise deployments and strengthening its positioning in AI services. Accenture (ACN) Lands NiCE AI Partner Recognition As Its Enterprise Push Expands
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent articles highlighted Accenture’s compressed valuation, strong cash generation, dividend profile, and buyback support, which may be encouraging investors looking for a cheaper entry point in a high-quality services name. Top 25 High-Growth Dividend Stocks For July 2026
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target on Accenture to $151 from $150 while keeping a Hold rating, signaling slightly improved expectations tied to a higher share-repurchase outlook. Is Accenture (ACN) One of the Most Promising Future Stocks to Buy Right Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also focused on the Q3 2026 earnings call transcript, which could provide more color on demand trends, AI-related bookings, and management’s outlook. Accenture Q3 2026 Earnings Call: Complete Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the recent rebound in interest, some commentary still frames Accenture as a deep drawdown story facing AI-driven disruption concerns, which keeps sentiment cautious and may limit upside until growth reaccelerates. Accenture: One Of The Most Attractive Valuations I Have Ever Seen

Insider Activity

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 Up 5.2%

NYSE:ACN opened at $130.96 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $87.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.14. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $118.15 and a fifty-two week high of $307.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $166.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $210.09.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.10. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.49 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 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 dividend yield of 5.0%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is 52.08%.

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

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.