Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Acquired by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Key Points

• Artisan Partners increased its Accenture stake by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, ending with 542,448 shares valued at about $145.5 million. Overall, institutional investors still own a large majority of the company, at 75.14%.
• Accenture’s latest earnings topped expectations, with quarterly EPS of $2.93 versus $2.84 expected and revenue of $18.04 billion, up 7.8% year over year. The company also continues to pay a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share, or $6.52 annually, for a 3.9% yield.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed but cautious, as several analysts recently cut price targets even while the broader consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with a target of $245.85. Investors are also focused on Accenture’s fiscal third-quarter results due June 18, which could determine whether recent weakness continues.

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 542,448 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 24,951 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.09% of Accenture worth $145,539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Weitz Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 28.8% in the 3rd quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,550 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $39,592,000 after buying an additional 35,900 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 282,340 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $75,752,000 after buying an additional 61,314 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 197.2% in 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 buying an additional 93,880 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 36.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 854,361 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 Up 0.3%

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $165.84 on Wednesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $180.37 and its 200-day moving average is $220.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.36 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $155.82 and a 12-month high of $315.95.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The business had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.82 earnings per share. Accenture's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Accenture from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Accenture from $275.00 to $248.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Mizuho cut their target price on Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on Accenture from $282.00 to $258.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $245.85.

Key Accenture News

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

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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