Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Cuts Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lowered its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 16.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 21,479 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 4,194 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Accenture were worth $4,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ACN shares. TD Cowen lowered shares of Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $258.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research report on Friday, June 19th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Accenture from $280.00 to $226.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Accenture from $186.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, HSBC decreased their price objective on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Accenture has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.19.

Accenture Price Performance

NYSE:ACN opened at $135.19 on Monday. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $118.15 and a one year high of $291.09. The stock has a market cap of $90.28 billion, a PE ratio of 10.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $160.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $203.47.

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

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

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 reacquire up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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.