ABN AMRO Bank N.V. Cuts Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• ABN AMRO Bank N.V. cut its Accenture stake by 47.4% in the first quarter, selling 19,831 shares and leaving it with 21,967 shares worth about $4.4 million.
• Accenture reported better-than-expected earnings for the quarter, with EPS of $3.80 versus $3.70 expected, and revenue up 5.6% year over year to $18.72 billion.
• The company also announced a $2 billion share buyback and a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share, while analysts remain cautious overall with an average Hold rating and a $195 price target.

ABN AMRO Bank N.V. lessened its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 47.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,967 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 19,831 shares during the quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V.'s holdings in Accenture were worth $4,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Accenture by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 878 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 329 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. raised its position in shares of Accenture by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. now owns 4,416 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Accenture by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC now owns 5,447 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,461,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Accenture by 1.2% in the second quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,751 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Accenture News

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

Accenture Stock Performance

ACN opened at $128.94 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a 1-year low of $118.15 and a 1-year high of $307.77. The stock has a market cap of $86.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.08. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $170.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.10. Accenture had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to buy up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. 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 52.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ACN shares. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. HSBC cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. William Blair downgraded shares of Accenture from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Accenture from $280.00 to $226.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, 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. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $195.00.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.