Congress Asset Management Co. Lowers Stock Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Congress Asset Management Co. trimmed its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,019 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 3,043 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $15,030,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investors Research Corp increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Accenture by 132.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Davis Capital Management acquired a new stake in Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ACN. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. HSBC raised shares of Accenture from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $220.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on Accenture from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.88.

More Accenture News

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Accenture Federal Services won a NOAA contract to modernize the National Weather Service’s AWIPS into NWS HIVE — a mission‑critical, multi‑year federal engagement that supports backlog and stable government revenue streams. Accenture Federal Services Wins NOAA Contract
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture continues to expand its AI capabilities: announced an investment in DaVinci Commerce to advance agentic AI commerce (supports future revenue growth in retail digital transformation). Accenture Invests in DaVinci Commerce
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture partnered with Microsoft to deploy agentic AI for enhanced digital security — another strategic tie to hyperscalers that can deepen client engagements and recurring cloud/AI revenue. Accenture Partners with Microsoft
• Positive Sentiment: Recent Q2 results beat consensus (sales and EPS) and management provided an updated fiscal‑2026 outlook; analysts cite the earnings beat alongside expanded AI deals when assessing longer‑term growth. Valuation Check After Q2 Earnings Beat
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and other outlets reiterate Accenture’s long‑term growth case (strong secular demand for digital and AI services), which supports buy‑and‑hold investors but doesn’t remove near‑term volatility. Zacks Long-Term Growth Case
• Neutral Sentiment: Mizuho trimmed its price target from $309 to $280 but maintained an “outperform” rating — a mixed signal (still bullish, but less upside than before). Mizuho Lowers Target but Keeps Outperform
• Negative Sentiment: Several sell‑side firms cut price targets this week (Guggenheim, RBC, BMO, Robert W. Baird), applying near‑term downward pressure on the stock despite the company’s operational wins. Guggenheim Cuts PT RBC Cuts PT BMO Cuts PT Baird Cuts PT
• Negative Sentiment: Technicals and valuation are weighing on the stock: ACN is trading below its 50‑ and 200‑day moving averages and near its 12‑month low, which can trigger short‑term selling and reduce momentum for momentum‑sensitive funds.

Accenture Trading Down 3.3%

NYSE ACN opened at $193.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $119.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $231.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $245.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $187.00 and a 52 week high of $325.71.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.82 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. 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 currently 53.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.38, for a total transaction of $1,101,650.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,221 shares in the company, valued at $7,523,339.98. The trade was a 12.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were 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 directly owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. The trade was a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 22,088 shares of company stock valued at $5,970,434. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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.