National Pension Service Raises Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

National Pension Service lifted its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 5.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,564,857 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 82,362 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.23% of Accenture worth $194,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Accenture by 36.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 4,905 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $618,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. United Bank raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 49.8% in the second 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 last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in shares of Accenture by 23.0% during the second 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 grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 4.2% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total transaction of $1,710,964.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 17,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,890,450.30. The trade was a 37.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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.

Accenture Price Performance

NYSE:ACN opened at $177.79 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $165.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.44. The firm has a market cap of $118.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.20, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.10. 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 one year low of $118.15 and a one year high of $291.09.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 19th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.47% and a net margin of 10.66%.The business had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.86 EPS for the current year.

Accenture announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology services provider to buy up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

Key Headlines Impacting Accenture

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Accenture is partnering with Google Cloud to create an enterprise-AI group supported by roughly 1,000 forward-deployed engineers. The team will help clients implement AI agents and could strengthen Accenture’s position in the expanding AI-services market. Accenture and Google are teaming up to send 1,000 engineers into the field to help clients with AI
• Positive Sentiment: MotoGP Group selected Accenture to help develop its next-generation direct-to-fan, internet-delivered streaming platform. The agreement supports Accenture’s media and technology-services pipeline and may produce additional recurring digital-transformation work. MotoGP and Accenture Join Forces to Reinvent the Direct-to-Fan Sports Streaming Experience
• Positive Sentiment: Several analyst-oriented reports recommend retaining ACN, citing rising AI demand, strategic acquisitions, strong free cash flow and low leverage. Accenture generated approximately $12.6 billion in trailing free cash flow, implying an unusually high free-cash-flow yield after the stock’s decline. Here’s Why You Should Retain Accenture Stock in Your Portfolio Now
• Neutral Sentiment: One valuation-focused article argues that Accenture’s recent corporate move could materially change the investment math following a roughly 53% decline from its two-year peak. The potential benefit is weighed against questions about the company’s growth outlook. ACN Stock Is Down 53% From Its Peak — But Accenture Just Made a Move That Changes the Math
• Negative Sentiment: Recent trading coverage points to continued share-price pressure, with ACN falling more than the broader market in the referenced session. The main concern is that softer quarterly results and modest revenue growth may indicate that demand is not accelerating quickly enough to offset investor expectations. Accenture Dips More Than Broader Market

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on ACN. Susquehanna cut their target price on Accenture from $186.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Accenture from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Accenture from $280.00 to $226.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Accenture from $177.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on Accenture from $180.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $194.19.

Accenture Company Profile

Accenture plc is a global professional services company that helps organizations improve business performance through consulting, technology, and managed services. Its offerings include strategy and consulting, technology implementation, operations support, and business process services.

The company provides digital transformation services involving cloud computing, artificial intelligence, data and analytics, cybersecurity, systems integration, and enterprise software. Through its Song and Industry X businesses, Accenture also supports customer experience, marketing, product engineering, and smart manufacturing initiatives.

Accenture serves clients across a broad range of industries, including financial services, health care, public service, communications, media and technology, consumer goods, retail, resources, and industrial markets.