South Dakota Investment Council Increases Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

South Dakota Investment Council boosted its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 19.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 70,450 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,349 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Accenture were worth $13,970,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ACN. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 36.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 4,905 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Accenture by 46.9% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $618,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. United Bank boosted its stake in shares of Accenture by 49.8% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in Accenture by 23.0% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 828 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in Accenture by 4.2% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $528,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $173.23 on Thursday. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $118.15 and a fifty-two week high of $291.09. The company has a market cap of $115.68 billion, a PE ratio of 13.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 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. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.11.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior 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 analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture declared that its board has initiated a stock 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 purchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.08%.

Key Headlines Impacting Accenture

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Accenture announced a $2 billion share-repurchase program and a new quarterly dividend, providing a direct boost to shareholder returns. The move followed fiscal third-quarter results that included adjusted earnings of $3.80 per share, above the $3.70 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 5.6% year over year to $18.72 billion. Why Are Accenture Shares Soaring Today
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture and Radisson Hotel Group launched an AI-powered hotel-discovery application within ChatGPT. The tool allows travelers to search more than 1,000 properties in over 100 countries using natural language and then complete bookings through Radisson’s website. The project strengthens Accenture’s position in “agentic commerce” and could lead to further travel-industry transformation work. Radisson Hotel Group and Accenture Redefine Travel Discovery on ChatGPT
• Neutral Sentiment: Accenture’s earnings preview and recent investor commentary highlight a mixed backdrop: the company benefits from strong demand for AI-related services, but growth has lagged some higher-momentum AI companies. Management’s fiscal 2026 earnings guidance of approximately $13.78–$13.90 per share remains an important measure for investors. Accenture Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: A comparison with Palantir argues that Palantir currently has stronger U.S. commercial growth, larger AI contracts, and better estimates. The comparison reinforces concerns that Accenture could face slower growth or disruption as clients adopt AI tools and as competition intensifies. PLTR vs. ACN

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Argus dropped their target price on Accenture from $335.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Evercore set a $180.00 price objective on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. TD Cowen lowered Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $258.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. William Blair downgraded shares of Accenture from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Twelve equities 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $192.96.

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.