Journey Advisory Group LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Journey Advisory Group LLC cut its Accenture stake by 86.7% in the first quarter, selling 11,274 shares and leaving it with 1,730 shares valued at about $343,000.
• Accenture reported better-than-expected earnings of $3.80 per share on revenue of $18.72 billion, with revenue up 5.6% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share and a $2 billion share buyback program, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus "Hold".

Journey Advisory Group LLC lowered its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 86.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,730 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 11,274 shares during the quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Accenture were worth $343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ACN. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 36.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 4,905 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Accenture by 46.9% in 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 period. United Bank lifted its stake in Accenture by 49.8% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of 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 period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 4.2% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Accenture Trading Up 5.6%

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $144.68 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $118.15 and a 52 week high of $291.09. The company's 50 day moving average is $157.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $199.76. The company has a market cap of $96.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.47% and a net margin of 10.66%.Accenture's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. Accenture's payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

Accenture declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on ACN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Accenture from $247.00 to $201.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Evercore set a $180.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $210.00 to $185.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 15th. Oppenheimer set a $201.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $193.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer 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 ownership of the stock. The sale 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 currently 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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