Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Has $13.74 Million Stake in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Arrowstreet Capital reduced its Accenture stake by 30.6% in the first quarter, selling 30,534 shares and retaining 69,281 shares valued at approximately $13.74 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 75.14% of ACN.
• Accenture reported quarterly EPS of $3.80, ahead of estimates, while revenue rose 5.6% year over year to $18.72 billion. The company also announced a $2 billion share-repurchase authorization and maintains a quarterly dividend of $1.63, yielding about 3.9% annually.
• Analysts remain cautious, with an overall “Hold” rating and an average price target of $192.96, while citing weak organic growth and declining bookings. Potential catalysts include AI investments and a major digital-transformation project with UniCredit and IBM.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership cut its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 30.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 69,281 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 30,534 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership's holdings in Accenture were worth $13,738,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $6,486,000 after buying an additional 4,905 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Accenture by 46.9% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $618,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. United Bank grew its stake in Accenture by 49.8% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in Accenture by 23.0% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 828 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Accenture

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UniCredit digital-transformation deal: Accenture and IBM are collaborating with UniCredit to build a next-generation European banking platform. The project reinforces Accenture’s position in large, strategic technology-transformation contracts and could support future bookings and revenue. UniCredit, Accenture and IBM Collaborate to Build Europe's Next-Generation Banking Platform
• Positive Sentiment: AI strategy remains a potential catalyst: Coverage highlighted Accenture’s investments in artificial intelligence and its Edge business as opportunities to capture demand for AI implementation and enterprise modernization. Successful execution could improve growth prospects and sentiment toward the stock. Why Is Accenture Strengthening Its AI Strategy?
• Positive Sentiment: Deeply discounted valuation: Analysts noted that ACN trades at roughly 12 times fiscal 2026 earnings following a steep decline, with an approximately 4% dividend yield. The valuation has prompted cautious views that the market may be pricing in more permanent business damage than ultimately occurs. ACN Got Cheaper. The Business Did Not Get Worse
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling disclosed: General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares for about $1.7 million, reducing his holdings by 37.2%. Because the transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, it offers limited insight into current management expectations. Accenture Insider Trading Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Execution concerns remain: Accenture’s organic growth is weak and bookings have declined, while Capgemini’s stronger performance suggests that some of ACN’s pressure may reflect company-specific execution issues rather than industry conditions. AI initiatives are promising, but their ability to scale and expand margins remains unproven. Accenture: The Market Is Pricing In Too Much Permanent Damage

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. HSBC dropped their price target on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Accenture from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research report on Friday, June 19th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Accenture from $225.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Accenture from $200.00 to $194.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $192.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total transaction of $1,710,964.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 17,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. This represents a 37.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Accenture Stock Performance

NYSE:ACN opened at $166.34 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.08 billion, a PE ratio of 13.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.13. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $118.15 and a twelve month high of $291.09. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $152.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $191.12.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Accenture's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.08%.

Accenture declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology services provider to buy up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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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