SouthState Bank Corp Trims Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

SouthState Bank Corp trimmed its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 15.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 33,393 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 6,215 shares during the period. SouthState Bank Corp’s holdings in Accenture were worth $8,959,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ACN. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,146,995,000. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 41.1% in the third 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 buying an additional 4,984,930 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the third quarter worth about $311,694,000. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the third quarter worth about $268,578,000. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 287.0% during the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 1,307,722 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $350,862,000 after acquiring an additional 969,792 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Accenture News

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Accenture’s strong earnings-surprise track record and said the company has the ingredients for another beat when it next reports results, which can lift sentiment ahead of earnings. Will Accenture (ACN) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus reiterated its Buy rating on Accenture, reinforcing the view that the stock remains attractive at current levels. Stifel Nicolaus Sticks to Its Buy Rating for Accenture (ACN)
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture announced a strategic investment and partnership with AlphaSense to bring agentic AI workflows for market intelligence to enterprises, underscoring continued momentum in AI services and enterprise transformation. Accenture and AlphaSense Announce Strategic Investment and Partnership to Bring Agentic Workflows for Market Intelligence to Enterprises
• Positive Sentiment: TEPCO Solution Advance also said it is working with Accenture to reinvent operations with AI, adding another example of new client demand tied to Accenture’s AI consulting capabilities. TEPCO Solution Advance Teams with Accenture to Reinvent Operations with AI
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent opinion pieces argued that Accenture looks undervalued on earnings and cash flow metrics, which may help investor confidence, but these were commentary rather than new fundamentals. Accenture: A 57% Drop Meets A 12.8 P/E – The Ultimate Margin Of Safety
• Neutral Sentiment: Other analysis said AI is accelerating demand rather than disrupting Accenture’s business model, supporting the long-term bull case but not changing near-term results on its own. Accenture: AI Is Accelerating Instead Of Disrupting The Consultancy
• Negative Sentiment: At least one recent valuation update trimmed Accenture’s fair value estimate and another note pointed to softer IT spending and AI competition, reflecting lingering caution around growth and margins. How The Investment Story For Accenture (ACN) Is Shifting With AI And Softer IT Spending

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.54.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 corporate insiders.

Accenture Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of ACN opened at $178.45 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $184.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.34. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $155.82 and a twelve month high of $321.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.62, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.08.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The company had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Accenture Company 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.