Accenture (NYSE:ACN) General Counsel Sells 10,498 Shares

Key Points

• Accenture General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares at an average price of $162.98, generating approximately $1.71 million. The transaction, conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reduced his holdings by 37.18% to 17,735 shares.
• Accenture reported quarterly EPS of $3.80, beating estimates by $0.10, while revenue rose 5.6% year over year to $18.72 billion. The stock recently traded at $166.34, well below its 52-week high of $291.09.
• The company announced a $2 billion share repurchase program and a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share, representing a 3.9% annualized yield. Analysts maintain an average “Hold” rating with a consensus price target of $192.96.

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total value of $1,710,964.04. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 17,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. This trade represents a 37.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Accenture Price Performance

NYSE:ACN traded up $3.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $166.34. 9,349,541 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,329,817. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $152.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $191.29. Accenture PLC has a 1-year low of $118.15 and a 1-year high of $291.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.08 billion, a PE ratio of 13.29, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.13.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $18.72 billion during 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%. Accenture'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 EPS. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. Research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. Accenture's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.08%.

Accenture declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Accenture from $253.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Mizuho cut their target price on Accenture from $280.00 to $226.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Accenture from $247.00 to $201.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Evercore set a $180.00 price objective on Accenture in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $192.96.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Accenture

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in Accenture by 27.7% during 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 increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 197.2% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 141,484 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $37,960,000 after purchasing an additional 93,880 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Accenture by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 557,516 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $149,582,000 after buying an additional 149,357 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $17,726,831,000 after acquiring an additional 854,361 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Accenture by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 335,314 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $89,965,000 after purchasing an additional 36,037 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

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.

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