Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA Sells 31,468 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA lowered its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 58.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,511 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 31,468 shares during the quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA's holdings in Accenture were worth $6,040,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. McMillan Office Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the third quarter worth $26,000. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of ACN opened at $165.84 on Wednesday. Accenture PLC has a 1-year low of $155.82 and a 1-year high of $315.95. The company has a market cap of $110.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.58, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.08. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $180.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $220.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The firm had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.82 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. Accenture's payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Key Accenture News

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Susquehanna cut its price target on Accenture to $186 from $222 and kept a neutral rating, adding to the cautious tone around the stock ahead of earnings. Susquehanna adjusts price target on Accenture
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies also lowered its target on Accenture to $185 from $210 and maintained a hold rating, reinforcing concerns that near-term upside may be limited. Jefferies adjusts price target on Accenture
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are waiting for Accenture’s fiscal third-quarter results on June 18, with expectations for revenue and EPS growth that could determine whether the recent weakness continues or reverses. Accenture set to report Q3 earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Accenture is also in the spotlight after Unilever said it is scaling AI-enabled digital twins across its manufacturing network with Accenture, highlighting ongoing enterprise AI work, though the announcement is not a major immediate catalyst. Unilever scales digital twins across global manufacturing network with Accenture
• Neutral Sentiment: Accenture received an award recognizing its AI innovation across its workforce, which supports the company’s AI narrative but is unlikely to move the stock on its own. Accenture award underscores AI role

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial lowered shares of Accenture from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday, June 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $247.00 to $201.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 8th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $220.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a report on Wednesday. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Accenture presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $242.41.

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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