Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by Madison Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Madison Asset Management cut its Accenture stake by 64.6% in the first quarter, selling 157,756 shares and leaving it with 86,498 shares worth about $17.15 million.
• Analysts are mixed on Accenture: the stock has a consensus rating of Hold with an average target price of $192.96, even as several firms recently lowered their price objectives.
• Accenture reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS estimates and raising FY 2026 guidance, while also approving a $2 billion share repurchase program and maintaining a 4.5% dividend yield.

Madison Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 64.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 86,498 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 157,756 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC's holdings in Accenture were worth $17,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Accenture during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 96.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ACN shares. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 price target on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Accenture from $275.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Accenture from $210.00 to $185.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Accenture from $200.00 to $194.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Accenture has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $192.96.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the transaction, 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 position. 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. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $144.63 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.97. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $118.15 and a 52 week high of $291.09. The company has a market cap of $96.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.13. 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 (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. The firm's 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 research analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Accenture's payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

Accenture declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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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