Empowered Funds LLC Buys 52,358 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 40.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 182,581 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 52,358 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $36,204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Accenture by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 878 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Accenture by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 329 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. increased its position in shares of Accenture by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. now owns 4,416 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC now owns 5,447 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,461,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Accenture by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,751 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,108,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $154.22 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $118.15 and a one year high of $291.09. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $153.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $193.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.13.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 18th. 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 firm had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.49 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. Analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.08%.

Accenture announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology services provider to purchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Accenture from $177.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Accenture from $275.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on shares of Accenture from $180.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Accenture from $253.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $201.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $192.96.

Insider Activity

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 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.