Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Bought by Sound Income Strategies LLC

Key Points

• Sound Income Strategies LLC dramatically increased its stake in Accenture, boosting its holdings by 11,510% to 61,533 shares worth about $12.1 million in the first quarter.
• Accenture’s CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares in a pre-arranged trading plan, reducing his direct ownership by 27.57%.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $3.80 per share, beating estimates, and also announced a $2 billion share buyback along with a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share.

Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 11,510.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,533 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after buying an additional 61,003 shares during the quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC's holdings in Accenture were worth $12,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $137.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $91.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $165.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $209.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $118.15 and a 12 month high of $307.77.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.47% and a net margin of 10.66%.Accenture's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Announces Dividend

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 issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Accenture's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ACN shares. William Blair cut Accenture from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. HSBC reduced their target price on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Accenture from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Accenture from $225.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Argus decreased their target price on shares of Accenture from $335.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $195.00.

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.

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.