289,380 Shares in Accenture PLC $ACN Purchased by SEB Asset Management AB

SEB Asset Management AB bought a new stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 289,380 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $57,381,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new stake in Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Accenture during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Argus lowered their target price on Accenture from $335.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. HSBC reduced their price target on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Accenture from $186.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $253.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Berenberg Bank decreased their target price on shares of Accenture from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Accenture currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, 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 accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Performance

NYSE ACN opened at $143.56 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.47, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $156.38 and a 200 day moving average of $199.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $118.15 and a twelve month high of $291.09.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 26.47% and a net margin of 10.66%.The business’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. Accenture’s payout ratio is presently 52.08%.

Accenture declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.