Vise Technologies Inc. Grows Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its Accenture stake by 64.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 18,041 shares valued at about $4.84 million. Other institutional investors also increased holdings, and hedge funds now own about 75.14% of Accenture’s stock.
• Analysts remain mixed on Accenture: Truist cut its rating to Hold and lowered its target, while the overall consensus still sits at Moderate Buy with an average price target of $265.54.
• Accenture’s latest earnings topped expectations, with EPS of $2.93 and revenue of $18.04 billion, and the company also highlighted continued AI-related business momentum through partnerships such as its investment with AlphaSense.

Vise Technologies Inc. increased its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 64.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,041 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after buying an additional 7,070 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc.'s holdings in Accenture were worth $4,840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Weitz Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Accenture by 28.8% during the third quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,550 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $39,592,000 after acquiring an additional 35,900 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Accenture by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 282,340 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $75,752,000 after acquiring an additional 61,314 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Accenture by 180.4% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 404,680 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $99,794,000 after acquiring an additional 260,357 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Accenture by 197.2% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 141,484 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $37,960,000 after acquiring an additional 93,880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Accenture by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 557,516 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $149,582,000 after acquiring an additional 149,357 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on ACN shares. Truist Financial downgraded Accenture from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Accenture from $210.00 to $199.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $265.54.

Accenture News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Accenture’s strong earnings-surprise track record and said the company has the ingredients for another beat when it next reports results, which can lift sentiment ahead of earnings. Will Accenture (ACN) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus reiterated its Buy rating on Accenture, reinforcing the view that the stock remains attractive at current levels. Stifel Nicolaus Sticks to Its Buy Rating for Accenture (ACN)
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture announced a strategic investment and partnership with AlphaSense to bring agentic AI workflows for market intelligence to enterprises, underscoring continued momentum in AI services and enterprise transformation. Accenture and AlphaSense Announce Strategic Investment and Partnership to Bring Agentic Workflows for Market Intelligence to Enterprises
• Positive Sentiment: TEPCO Solution Advance also said it is working with Accenture to reinvent operations with AI, adding another example of new client demand tied to Accenture’s AI consulting capabilities. TEPCO Solution Advance Teams with Accenture to Reinvent Operations with AI
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent opinion pieces argued that Accenture looks undervalued on earnings and cash flow metrics, which may help investor confidence, but these were commentary rather than new fundamentals. Accenture: A 57% Drop Meets A 12.8 P/E - The Ultimate Margin Of Safety
• Neutral Sentiment: Other analysis said AI is accelerating demand rather than disrupting Accenture’s business model, supporting the long-term bull case but not changing near-term results on its own. Accenture: AI Is Accelerating Instead Of Disrupting The Consultancy
• Negative Sentiment: At least one recent valuation update trimmed Accenture’s fair value estimate and another note pointed to softer IT spending and AI competition, reflecting lingering caution around growth and margins. How The Investment Story For Accenture (ACN) Is Shifting With AI And Softer IT Spending

Accenture Stock Performance

Accenture stock opened at $178.45 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $184.29 and a 200-day moving average of $224.34. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $155.82 and a 1 year high of $321.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $118.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.08.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The firm's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. Accenture's dividend payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The transaction 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. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

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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