Andra AP fonden Sells 73,582 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Andra AP fonden cut its Accenture stake by 53.9% in the first quarter, selling 73,582 shares and leaving it with 63,026 shares valued at about $12.5 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Accenture has a consensus rating of “Hold” with an average price target of $192.96, even as several firms recently lowered their targets.
• Accenture posted solid quarterly results and shareholder returns, beating EPS estimates with $3.80 per share and announcing a $1.63 quarterly dividend plus a new $2.0 billion share buyback authorization.

Andra AP fonden lowered its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 53.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,026 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 73,582 shares during the quarter. Andra AP fonden's holdings in Accenture were worth $12,497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ACN. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Accenture from $247.00 to $201.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 8th. Oppenheimer set a $201.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research note on Monday, June 8th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research report on Friday, June 19th. Berenberg Bank cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, HSBC lowered their price objective on shares of Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Twelve 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $192.96.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of ACN opened at $141.11 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average is $155.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $197.08. The company has a market capitalization of $94.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.13. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $118.15 and a fifty-two week high of $291.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share (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 business 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 firm posted $3.49 EPS. The company'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. Research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. Accenture's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.08%.

Accenture announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding 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 plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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