Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Purchased by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden increased its Accenture stake by 58.5% in the first quarter, buying 119,115 more shares and bringing its total holding to 322,638 shares worth about $64 million.
• Several other institutional investors also boosted or added to Accenture positions, and hedge funds and other institutions now own 75.14% of the company’s stock.
• Accenture reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $3.80 per share and announced a $2 billion share buyback plus a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share, even as analysts’ views remain mixed with an average rating of “Hold.”

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 58.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 322,638 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 119,115 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Accenture were worth $63,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,146,995,000. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Accenture by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,128,134 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $4,223,839,000 after acquiring an additional 4,984,930 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $311,694,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,173,338 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $2,192,907,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122,855 shares during the period. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 84.0% in the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,405,683 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $477,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097,961 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACN has been the subject of several recent research reports. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Accenture from $275.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Guggenheim reduced their target price 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. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $186.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Evercore set a $180.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Accenture has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $195.00.

Accenture Price Performance

ACN stock opened at $137.40 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $165.36 and a 200-day moving average of $209.14. The company has a market cap of $91.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. Accenture's payout ratio is presently 52.08%.

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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