Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 92.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,672 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 77,758 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $1,790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investors Research Corp boosted 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 in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 132.6% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in Accenture during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in Accenture in the third quarter worth $28,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Accenture

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Truist reaffirmed a Buy rating and $260 price target after Accenture’s Q2 results and record $22 billion bookings, signaling revenue momentum and stronger-than-expected demand. Accenture (ACN) Rated Buy on Strong Bookings Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture launched Cyber.AI in partnership with Anthropic to scale AI-driven cybersecurity operations — a product tie-up that can expand higher‑value, recurring services revenue as enterprises prioritize AI security. Accenture and Anthropic Team to Help Organizations Secure, Scale AI-Driven Cybersecurity Operations
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture Ventures invested in DaVinci Commerce and partnered via Accenture Song to commercialize AI agents for digital commerce — a strategic move to capture growth in AI-enabled transaction and CX services. Accenture Backs DaVinci Commerce in Push for AI Agents to Streamline Digital Transactions
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst pieces (Zacks/Yahoo) recommend retaining ACN, citing steady multi-year growth from cloud, cybersecurity and public sector wins, but framing current moves as part of a longer-term story rather than immediate catalysts. Here’s Why You Should Retain Accenture Stock in Your Portfolio Now
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage from Zacks and other outlets highlights ACN as a value/trending name that’s drawing investor attention — rising interest can support liquidity but isn’t a guaranteed near-term price driver. Here’s Why Accenture (ACN) is a Strong Value Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Mizuho issued a pessimistic near-term forecast for ACN’s share price, creating downside risk and giving wary investors a reason to take profits or reduce exposure. Mizuho Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Stock Price
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and articles note rising costs and margin pressure despite revenue growth — a near-term headwind that could limit multiple expansion even as top-line momentum continues. Here’s Why You Should Retain Accenture Stock in Your Portfolio Now

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Argus decreased their target price on shares of Accenture from $370.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 6th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.70, for a total value of $289,024.20. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 27,181 shares in the company, valued at $7,656,887.70. This trade represents a 3.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total value 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. The trade was a 28.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 22,088 shares of company stock valued at $5,970,434 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Trading Up 2.1%

Accenture stock opened at $196.35 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $187.00 and a one year high of $325.71. The business’s fifty day moving average is $227.32 and its 200 day moving average is $245.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.27. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.04 billion during 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%.Accenture’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

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

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.