Avity Investment Management Inc. Trims Stake in Accenture PLC $ACN

Avity Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,976 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 3,314 shares during the quarter. Accenture comprises approximately 1.5% of Avity Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Avity Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $21,726,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ACN. Dakota Wealth Management raised its position in Accenture by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 30,261 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $8,119,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 284.6% in the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 16,252 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,360,000 after buying an additional 12,026 shares during the period. Granite Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Accenture during the 4th quarter worth about $596,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH boosted its holdings in Accenture by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 147,471 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $39,566,000 after acquiring an additional 4,132 shares during the period. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its position in Accenture by 43.9% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 9,048 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,428,000 after acquiring an additional 2,762 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Trading Down 1.9%

NYSE ACN opened at $192.60 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $187.00 and a one year high of $325.71. The firm has a market cap of $118.57 billion, a PE ratio of 15.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $225.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $244.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company posted $2.82 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Accenture’s payout ratio is presently 53.40%.

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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In related news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total transaction of $1,461,130.11. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,679,963.65. This trade represents a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $289,024.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 27,181 shares in the company, valued at $7,656,887.70. This represents a 3.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 22,088 shares of company stock valued at $5,970,434. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ACN shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Accenture from $266.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. HSBC raised shares of Accenture from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $220.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $317.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on Accenture from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.88.

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.