Accenture PLC $ACN Holdings Lowered by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC decreased its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 25.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,761 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 11,418 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $9,058,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ACN. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Accenture by 36.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 4,905 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Accenture by 46.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $618,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. United Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 49.8% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 23.3% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 233,756 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $69,867,000 after buying an additional 44,158 shares during the period. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 15.4% in the second quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,234 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $967,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of ACN stock opened at $192.60 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $187.00 and a fifty-two week high of $325.71. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $225.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $244.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $118.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.77, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.27.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The business had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. HSBC raised Accenture from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $220.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on Accenture from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.88.

Key Stories Impacting Accenture

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Accenture launched Cyber.AI, an AI-driven cybersecurity platform powered by Anthropic’s Claude, positioning ACN to capture enterprise spend on AI-native security operations and managed detection/response. Accenture and Anthropic Team to Help Organizations Secure, Scale AI-Driven Cybersecurity Operations
• Positive Sentiment: UBS highlighted the Accenture–Anthropic cybersecurity tie-up as supportive of ACN’s AI strategy, reinforcing analyst confidence that the new offering strengthens long-term growth potential in AI security. Accenture-Anthropic cybersecurity partnership seen strengthening AI thesis, says UBS
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture invested in and partnered with DaVinci Commerce to bring agentic AI commerce capabilities into Accenture Song, expanding addressable market in digital transactions and commerce automation. This supports the company’s push to monetize AI agents across enterprise functions. ACN Continues to Focus on AI Development: Is it a Growth Catalyst?
• Positive Sentiment: Truist reiterated a Buy and pointed to record bookings (~$22B) and better-than-expected Q2 results as signs of durable demand — a near-term fundamental positive even as costs rise. Accenture (ACN) Rated Buy on Strong Bookings Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary (Zacks/Yahoo) urges retaining ACN for steady growth from AI-driven cybersecurity, cloud and public sector wins but flags margin pressures from rising costs — a mix of upside from revenue drivers and near-term margin risk. Here’s Why You Should Retain Accenture Stock in Your Portfolio Now
• Negative Sentiment: A peer-comparison piece notes SAIC currently looks stronger on valuation, backlog and recent price performance — highlighting competitive and valuation pressures that could weigh on ACN’s stock multiple. ACN vs. SAIC: Which IT Services Stock Holds an Edge at Present?
• Negative Sentiment: Technically, ACN is trading below its 50- and 200-day moving averages and volume is lighter than average — factors that can amplify downward pressure when investors rotate out after prior gains.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total transaction of $1,008,263.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 8,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,298,380.79. This trade represents a 30.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Manish Sharma sold 2,731 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.13, for a total transaction of $786,883.03. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,033,333.41. The trade was a 27.90% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434 over the last quarter. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.