Simmons Bank Sells 12,023 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Simmons Bank cut its Accenture stake by 76.4% in the first quarter, selling 12,023 shares and leaving it with 3,708 shares worth about $735,000.
• Accenture reported better-than-expected earnings of $3.80 per share, while revenue came in slightly below estimates at $18.72 billion. Quarterly revenue still rose 5.6% year over year, and the company reaffirmed FY2026 EPS guidance of 13.78–13.90.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share and approved a $2.0 billion share buyback. Analysts have mixed views, with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $195.

Simmons Bank trimmed its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 76.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,708 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 12,023 shares during the period. Simmons Bank's holdings in Accenture were worth $735,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ACN. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Accenture in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Accenture during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new stake in Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Accenture during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Accenture Stock Performance

NYSE ACN opened at $124.48 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $83.13 billion, a PE ratio of 9.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. Accenture PLC has a 52-week low of $118.15 and a 52-week high of $307.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.07.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Accenture's payout ratio is presently 52.08%.

Accenture announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan 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 plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ACN shares. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Accenture from $275.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Berenberg Bank cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on shares of Accenture from $180.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Accenture from $247.00 to $201.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Evercore set a $180.00 target price on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Accenture presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $195.00.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 corporate 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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