Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lessened its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 78,770 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 5,283 shares during the quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $20,794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Accenture by 36.2% during 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 last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Accenture by 46.9% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $618,000 after buying an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. United Bank boosted its stake in Accenture by 49.8% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,088,000 after buying an additional 1,209 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture during the second quarter valued at about $2,791,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 1,130.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,245 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $3,660,000 after acquiring an additional 11,250 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Accenture News

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 beat and record bookings — Accenture reported EPS and revenue above expectations and said bookings remain strong, driven by AI and cloud demand; that underpins longer-term growth potential. BusinessWire: Q2 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic partnerships and product wins — New collaborations (notably with Microsoft on agentic security) and ongoing AI initiatives support deal pipeline and cross-sell opportunities. BusinessWire: Microsoft Collaboration
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns — Board announced a quarterly dividend (ex-dividend April 9) reinforcing cash return policy and yielding ~3.2%, which can support investor demand for the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Selective analyst upgrades — HSBC moved to “hold” with a $220 target and a few firms maintain outperform/buy ratings even as they trim targets; sentiment among sell‑side analysts is mixed. Finviz: HSBC Upgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple price-target cuts — Several brokers trimmed targets (BMO to $230, RBC to $253, Guggenheim to $250, Robert W. Baird to $265) after the quarter, increasing near‑term downside perception despite differing ratings. Benzinga: Analyst Moves TickerReport
• Negative Sentiment: Cautious revenue outlook — Management’s near-term revenue guidance came in below some Street expectations and the company warned of client caution on large IT transformation spending, which is the key driver of today’s weakness. Reuters: Revenue Forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downward revisions and stock reaction — Several analysts cut earnings/forecasts after the print and the stock is declining on higher-than-normal volume, reflecting profit‑taking and concern about near‑term execution and AI disruption risks. Benzinga: Forecast Cuts

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on Accenture from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.00.

Accenture Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $200.41 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $234.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $246.68. The company has a market capitalization of $123.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.27. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $187.00 and a 1 year high of $325.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.41.

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

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In related news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.70, for a total value of $289,024.20. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 27,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,656,887.70. The trade was a 3.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Catherine Kiernan Hogan sold 660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.93, for a total transaction of $185,413.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 12,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,564,439.84. This represents a 4.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.