Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN – Free Report) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 96,864 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,829 shares during the quarter. Accenture comprises approximately 1.0% of Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $25,989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ACN. Investors Research Corp raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 73.8% during the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 106 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Accenture by 132.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Davis Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.
Accenture News Roundup
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.
Accenture Stock Down 1.9%
Accenture (NYSE:ACN – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $18.04 billion for 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%.The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Accenture Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.40%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several research firms recently commented on ACN. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $266.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.88.
Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture
In related news, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 8,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,298,380.79. This represents a 30.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,026 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was 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 owned 27,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,656,887.70. The trade was a 3.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,088 shares of company stock valued at $5,970,434. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.
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.
See Also
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