Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Decreases Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 88.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,712 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 254,636 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $8,777,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,216,850,000. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Accenture by 41.1% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,128,134 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,223,839,000 after buying an additional 4,984,930 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture during the third quarter worth approximately $311,694,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 12.8% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,147,796 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,502,446,000 after buying an additional 1,148,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Accenture in the third quarter valued at $268,578,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ACN shares. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Accenture from $266.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on Accenture from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Eighteen investment 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.88.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, insider Manish Sharma sold 2,731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.13, for a total value of $786,883.03. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,033,333.41. The trade was a 27.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 15,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. This trade represents a 28.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Performance

ACN stock opened at $192.60 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $187.00 and a 1 year high of $325.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.77, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $225.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $244.67.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The business had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.82 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current 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. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.40%.

Key Headlines Impacting Accenture

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 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.