Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. Purchases 110,420 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 28.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 495,336 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 110,420 shares during the period. Accenture accounts for approximately 2.2% of Crawford Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $132,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ACN. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at $2,146,995,000. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Accenture by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,128,134 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,223,839,000 after acquiring an additional 4,984,930 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at $311,694,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Accenture by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,173,338 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,192,907,000 after acquiring an additional 1,122,855 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at $268,578,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 trade 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 company insiders.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of ACN opened at $165.84 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $180.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.51. The company has a market capitalization of $110.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $155.82 and a fifty-two week high of $315.95.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The firm had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.80 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ACN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Accenture from $210.00 to $199.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Accenture from $275.00 to $248.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, HSBC cut their price target on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Accenture has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.85.

More Accenture News

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Susquehanna cut its price target on Accenture to $186 from $222 and kept a neutral rating, adding to the cautious tone around the stock ahead of earnings. Susquehanna adjusts price target on Accenture
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies also lowered its target on Accenture to $185 from $210 and maintained a hold rating, reinforcing concerns that near-term upside may be limited. Jefferies adjusts price target on Accenture
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are waiting for Accenture’s fiscal third-quarter results on June 18, with expectations for revenue and EPS growth that could determine whether the recent weakness continues or reverses. Accenture set to report Q3 earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Accenture is also in the spotlight after Unilever said it is scaling AI-enabled digital twins across its manufacturing network with Accenture, highlighting ongoing enterprise AI work, though the announcement is not a major immediate catalyst. Unilever scales digital twins across global manufacturing network with Accenture
• Neutral Sentiment: Accenture received an award recognizing its AI innovation across its workforce, which supports the company’s AI narrative but is unlikely to move the stock on its own. Accenture award underscores AI role

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.