31,400 Shares in Accenture PLC $ACN Acquired by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System initiated a new position in Accenture during the first quarter, buying 31,400 shares valued at about $6.2 million.
• Accenture reported quarterly EPS of $3.80, topping estimates, while revenue rose 5.6% year over year to $18.72 billion but came in slightly below expectations.
• The company announced a $2 billion share buyback and a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 5.1%.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 31,400 shares of the information technology services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,226,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Accenture by 197.2% during 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 buying an additional 93,880 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in 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 worth $149,582,000 after buying an additional 149,357 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Accenture by 1.3% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 854,361 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 36,037 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $128.94 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $118.15 and a 52 week high of $307.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $170.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $213.51. The company has a market cap of $86.11 billion, a PE ratio of 10.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.08.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.47% and a net margin of 10.66%.The company had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. Accenture's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.84 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. Accenture's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture News Roundup

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Berenberg Bank lowered their price objective on Accenture from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Argus dropped their price target on Accenture from $335.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Accenture from $253.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Accenture from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $201.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $195.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the 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 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 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 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.

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