Grove Bank & Trust Sells 3,130 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Grove Bank & Trust reduced its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 33.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,308 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 3,130 shares during the quarter. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in Accenture were worth $1,692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Running Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 57,541 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $14,190,000 after purchasing an additional 7,190 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in Accenture in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,658,000. Weitz Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Accenture by 28.8% during the 3rd quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,550 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $39,592,000 after buying an additional 35,900 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Accenture during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,216,850,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of Accenture by 17.4% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 258,599 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $63,771,000 after buying an additional 38,325 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $200.41 on Friday. 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 PLC has a 1 year low of $187.00 and a 1 year high of $325.71. The firm has a market cap of $123.38 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $246.68.

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

Accenture Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other news, insider Manish Sharma sold 2,731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.13, for a total value of $786,883.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,033,333.41. This represents a 27.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total value of $1,008,263.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,298,380.79. This represents a 30.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $317.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on Accenture from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.00.

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.