Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Bought by Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 3.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 191,422 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,863 shares during the quarter. Accenture comprises about 1.3% of Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $37,957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ACN. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. McMillan Office Inc. acquired a new position in Accenture during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in Accenture during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Trading Down 0.7%

ACN opened at $143.56 on Friday. 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. The company has a market cap of $95.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $156.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $199.36.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.47% and a net margin of 10.66%.The firm’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture announced that its board has approved a share buyback program 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 reacquire up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.08%.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer set a $201.00 price target on Accenture in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $225.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Accenture from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $275.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $193.19.

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.