Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in Accenture PLC $ACN

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 31,400 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,226,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ACN. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Accenture by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 878 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 329 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 0.9% in the third quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. now owns 4,416 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC now owns 5,447 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,461,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 1.2% during the second quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,751 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,108,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Accenture News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Negative Sentiment: BNP Paribas Exane cut its price target on Accenture from $180 to $130 and kept a neutral rating, citing execution and growth risks. MarketScreener
• Negative Sentiment: DBS Bank downgraded Accenture to hold, and other coverage pointed to weaker-than-expected FY2026 guidance, adding pressure to near-term sentiment. Zacks
• Negative Sentiment: Law firms Bragar Eagel & Squire and Kirby McInerney announced investigations into possible securities issues involving Accenture, which can create headline risk for the stock. GlobeNewswire
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary argued the market may be too quick to label Accenture an “AI loser,” suggesting its AI and growth narrative may still have upside if execution improves. TipRanks
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles noted Accenture is drawing heavier trading and investor attention, reflecting debate about whether the stock can recover after a steep year-to-date decline. Yahoo Finance

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim decreased their target price on Accenture from $225.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Accenture from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on shares of Accenture from $180.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research report on Friday, June 19th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Accenture currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $195.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Performance

ACN opened at $128.94 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $170.63 and its 200 day moving average is $213.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $86.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.30, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.08. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $118.15 and a 12-month high of $307.77.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.84 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.08%.

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

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.