Howe & Rusling Inc. Has $10.25 Million Stake in Accenture PLC $ACN

Howe & Rusling Inc. raised its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 25.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 51,701 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,528 shares during the quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $10,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in Accenture during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. McMillan Office Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ACN. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $186.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target 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. Oppenheimer set a $201.00 price objective on Accenture in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $195.00.

Accenture Stock Up 0.0%

ACN opened at $137.40 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $91.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.64. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $118.15 and a twelve month high of $307.77.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) 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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase 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 buy up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Accenture’s payout ratio is 52.08%.

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.