Kentucky Retirement Systems Grows Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Kentucky Retirement Systems boosted its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 33.5% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 52,487 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,184 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Accenture were worth $10,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 2.8% during the first quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 6,752 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,339,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Cim LLC raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 2.4% in the first quarter. Cim LLC now owns 6,994 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,387,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Bull Harbor Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 1st quarter worth approximately $227,000. Strategic Investment Advisors MI boosted its holdings in Accenture by 166.3% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 4,274 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $849,000 after acquiring an additional 2,669 shares during the period. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council grew its position in Accenture by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 70,450 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $13,970,000 after acquiring an additional 11,349 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $173.23 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $153.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.11. The firm has a market cap of $115.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.13. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $118.15 and a 12 month high of $291.09.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.08%.

Accenture announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ACN. Mizuho decreased their target price on Accenture from $280.00 to $226.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Accenture from $200.00 to $194.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 20th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $180.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Berenberg Bank reduced their target price on shares of Accenture from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $192.96.

More Accenture News

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Accenture announced a $2 billion share-repurchase program and a new quarterly dividend, providing a direct boost to shareholder returns. The move followed fiscal third-quarter results that included adjusted earnings of $3.80 per share, above the $3.70 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 5.6% year over year to $18.72 billion. Why Are Accenture Shares Soaring Today
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture and Radisson Hotel Group launched an AI-powered hotel-discovery application within ChatGPT. The tool allows travelers to search more than 1,000 properties in over 100 countries using natural language and then complete bookings through Radisson’s website. The project strengthens Accenture’s position in “agentic commerce” and could lead to further travel-industry transformation work. Radisson Hotel Group and Accenture Redefine Travel Discovery on ChatGPT
• Neutral Sentiment: Accenture’s earnings preview and recent investor commentary highlight a mixed backdrop: the company benefits from strong demand for AI-related services, but growth has lagged some higher-momentum AI companies. Management’s fiscal 2026 earnings guidance of approximately $13.78–$13.90 per share remains an important measure for investors. Accenture Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: A comparison with Palantir argues that Palantir currently has stronger U.S. commercial growth, larger AI contracts, and better estimates. The comparison reinforces concerns that Accenture could face slower growth or disruption as clients adopt AI tools and as competition intensifies. PLTR vs. ACN

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.