Dearborn Partners LLC Sells 4,521 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Dearborn Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 116,749 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 4,521 shares during the quarter. Accenture makes up about 1.6% of Dearborn Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $31,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ACN. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position 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 worth $618,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. United Bank increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in Accenture by 23.0% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 828 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Accenture by 4.2% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Key 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

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Accenture Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $178.45 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $155.82 and a 1 year high of $321.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of $184.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $224.34. The company has a market capitalization of $118.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.08. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.04 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.88 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price objective on Accenture in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Accenture from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Accenture currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $265.54.

About Accenture

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.