Russell Investments Group Ltd. Purchases 322,899 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 31.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,348,838 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 322,899 shares during the period. Accenture accounts for approximately 0.4% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.22% of Accenture worth $362,131,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ACN. Weitz Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 28.8% in the third quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,550 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $39,592,000 after acquiring an additional 35,900 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 282,340 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $75,752,000 after acquiring an additional 61,314 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 197.2% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 141,484 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $37,960,000 after acquiring an additional 93,880 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 557,516 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $149,582,000 after acquiring an additional 149,357 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Accenture by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,070,930 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $17,726,831,000 after purchasing an additional 854,361 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Accenture

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Susquehanna cut its price target on Accenture to $186 from $222 and kept a neutral rating, adding to the cautious tone around the stock ahead of earnings. Susquehanna adjusts price target on Accenture
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies also lowered its target on Accenture to $185 from $210 and maintained a hold rating, reinforcing concerns that near-term upside may be limited. Jefferies adjusts price target on Accenture
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are waiting for Accenture’s fiscal third-quarter results on June 18, with expectations for revenue and EPS growth that could determine whether the recent weakness continues or reverses. Accenture set to report Q3 earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Accenture is also in the spotlight after Unilever said it is scaling AI-enabled digital twins across its manufacturing network with Accenture, highlighting ongoing enterprise AI work, though the announcement is not a major immediate catalyst. Unilever scales digital twins across global manufacturing network with Accenture
• Neutral Sentiment: Accenture received an award recognizing its AI innovation across its workforce, which supports the company’s AI narrative but is unlikely to move the stock on its own. Accenture award underscores AI role

Accenture Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of ACN stock opened at $165.84 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $180.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $220.51. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $155.82 and a 12-month high of $315.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $110.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.08.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The company’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.82 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s payout ratio is presently 53.40%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value 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. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ACN shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $177.00 price target (down from $240.00) on shares of Accenture in a report on Monday. Citigroup lowered their price target on Accenture from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Accenture from $275.00 to $248.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.41.

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.