Capital International Inc. CA Grows Stake in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Capital International Inc. CA increased its stake in Accenture by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 12,013 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 194,467 shares worth about $52.2 million.
• Institutional ownership of Accenture remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors owning 75.14% of the stock. Several large firms, including Vanguard, State Street, and Capital International Investors, also added to their positions.
• Analysts remain generally positive despite recent price-target cuts: Accenture has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $265.54, while the company recently beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates and continues to highlight AI-related partnership momentum.

Capital International Inc. CA lifted its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 194,467 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after buying an additional 12,013 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA's holdings in Accenture were worth $52,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ACN. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Accenture by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,070,930 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $17,726,831,000 after acquiring an additional 854,361 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Accenture by 0.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,135,065 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $6,938,156,000 after acquiring an additional 118,460 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Accenture by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,471,554 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $4,687,867,000 after acquiring an additional 343,420 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Accenture by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,656,436 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $3,922,212,000 after acquiring an additional 218,719 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Accenture by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,693,994 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $2,869,199,000 after acquiring an additional 546,198 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Accenture News

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Accenture’s strong earnings-surprise track record and said the company has the ingredients for another beat when it next reports results, which can lift sentiment ahead of earnings. Will Accenture (ACN) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus reiterated its Buy rating on Accenture, reinforcing the view that the stock remains attractive at current levels. Stifel Nicolaus Sticks to Its Buy Rating for Accenture (ACN)
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture announced a strategic investment and partnership with AlphaSense to bring agentic AI workflows for market intelligence to enterprises, underscoring continued momentum in AI services and enterprise transformation. Accenture and AlphaSense Announce Strategic Investment and Partnership to Bring Agentic Workflows for Market Intelligence to Enterprises
• Positive Sentiment: TEPCO Solution Advance also said it is working with Accenture to reinvent operations with AI, adding another example of new client demand tied to Accenture’s AI consulting capabilities. TEPCO Solution Advance Teams with Accenture to Reinvent Operations with AI
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent opinion pieces argued that Accenture looks undervalued on earnings and cash flow metrics, which may help investor confidence, but these were commentary rather than new fundamentals. Accenture: A 57% Drop Meets A 12.8 P/E - The Ultimate Margin Of Safety
• Neutral Sentiment: Other analysis said AI is accelerating demand rather than disrupting Accenture’s business model, supporting the long-term bull case but not changing near-term results on its own. Accenture: AI Is Accelerating Instead Of Disrupting The Consultancy
• Negative Sentiment: At least one recent valuation update trimmed Accenture’s fair value estimate and another note pointed to softer IT spending and AI competition, reflecting lingering caution around growth and margins. How The Investment Story For Accenture (ACN) Is Shifting With AI And Softer IT Spending

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho reduced their target price on Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Guggenheim reduced their target price on Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Accenture from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 1st. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $265.54.

Accenture Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $178.45 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $155.82 and a 1 year high of $321.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $184.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $224.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.75 billion, a PE ratio of 14.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The business had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th were paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Accenture's payout ratio is 53.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the business'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 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 $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 Company 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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