Investidor Profissional Gestao de Recursos Ltda. Makes New Investment in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Investidor Profissional Gestao de Recursos Ltda. disclosed a new first-quarter position in Accenture, buying 14,522 shares valued at about $2.88 million. The stake makes Accenture its 16th largest holding and about 0.9% of its portfolio.
• Accenture reported better-than-expected earnings for the quarter, with EPS of $3.80 versus the $3.70 estimate and revenue up 5.6% year over year to $18.72 billion. The company also guided FY2026 EPS to a range of 13.780–13.900.
• The company announced a $2 billion share buyback and a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share, implying an annualized yield of 4.6%. Meanwhile, analysts’ sentiment remains cautious overall, with a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $192.96.

Investidor Profissional Gestao de Recursos Ltda. bought a new stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 14,522 shares of the information technology services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,880,000. Accenture comprises about 0.9% of Investidor Profissional Gestao de Recursos Ltda.'s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Accenture by 1.3% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 854,361 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Accenture by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,264,675 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $7,583,462,000 after buying an additional 129,610 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position 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 worth $4,687,867,000 after acquiring an additional 343,420 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Accenture by 1.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Accenture by 5.4% in the 4th 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 last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of Accenture 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 in the company, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of ACN opened at $141.11 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $197.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Accenture PLC has a 1-year low of $118.15 and a 1-year high of $291.09. The stock has a market cap of $94.23 billion, a PE ratio of 11.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.13.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current year.

Accenture declared that its board has approved a share buyback 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 purchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued 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 4.6%. Accenture's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACN has been the topic of several recent research reports. HSBC lowered their target price on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Argus reduced their price target on Accenture from $335.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $136.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price target 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. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $192.96.

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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