Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Sells 501,084 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lessened its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 60.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 327,432 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 501,084 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $91,290,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Accenture by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $6,486,000 after acquiring an additional 4,905 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 46.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. United Bank boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 49.8% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,791,000. Finally, Cozad Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Accenture during the second quarter valued at $200,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Accenture

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ACN shares. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Accenture from $317.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their target price on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,026 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.70, for a total transaction of $289,024.20. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 27,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,656,887.70. This represents a 3.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total value of $1,461,130.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. This trade represents a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 22,088 shares of company stock valued at $5,970,434 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Trading Down 1.5%

Accenture stock opened at $200.41 on Monday. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $187.00 and a one year high of $325.71. The business’s fifty day moving average is $234.38 and its 200 day moving average is $246.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.38 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.Accenture’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 is 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.