Pzena Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Pzena Investment Management boosted its Accenture stake by 287% in the fourth quarter, adding nearly 970,000 shares and bringing its total holding to 1.31 million shares worth about $350.9 million.
• Accenture’s recent quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $2.93 and revenue of $18.04 billion, while revenue rose 7.8% year over year.
• The company continues to expand its AI and cybersecurity efforts, including an investment in XBOW and a collaboration with HUMAIN to accelerate AI adoption in Saudi Arabia.

Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 287.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,307,722 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 969,792 shares during the period. Accenture comprises approximately 1.1% of Pzena Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned about 0.21% of Accenture worth $350,862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 4,905 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Accenture by 46.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $618,000 after buying an additional 660 shares during the period. United Bank increased its stake in Accenture by 49.8% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,088,000 after buying an additional 1,209 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in Accenture by 23.0% during the 2nd 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 increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 12,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Accenture News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Accenture announced a strategic investment in XBOW, an agentic AI-powered autonomous cybersecurity testing platform, through Accenture Ventures. The move expands its AI and cybersecurity capabilities and could help it offer more advanced security services to clients. Accenture (ACN) Invests in AI-Driven Security Platform XBOW
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture also unveiled a collaboration with HUMAIN to accelerate AI adoption across Saudi Arabia’s public and private sectors, positioning the company as a strategic AI partner in a growing international market. HUMAIN and Accenture Accelerate AI Adoption at Scale Across Public and Private Sectors in Saudi Arabia
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent market commentary says Accenture has outperformed the broader market in the latest session, while also noting the stock remains well below its recent highs after a steep year-long decline. This reflects improving short-term momentum, but the bigger picture is still tied to whether AI-related wins can translate into stronger earnings growth. Accenture (ACN) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of ACN stock opened at $177.94 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $118.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 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 PLC has a 1-year low of $155.82 and a 1-year high of $321.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $187.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $229.13.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.82 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ACN shares. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $274.50.

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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