Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Increases Stake in Accenture PLC $ACN

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lifted its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 96,864 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,829 shares during the quarter. Accenture accounts for approximately 1.0% of Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $25,989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 36.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 4,905 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Accenture by 46.9% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $618,000 after buying an additional 660 shares during the period. United Bank raised its stake in Accenture by 49.8% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,088,000 after buying an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Accenture by 23.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 233,756 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $69,867,000 after buying an additional 44,158 shares during the period. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Accenture by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,234 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $967,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Accenture Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $192.60 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $225.44 and its 200 day moving average is $244.62. 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 PLC has a 1 year low of $187.00 and a 1 year high of $325.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In related news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $366,300.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 28,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,756,925. This represents a 4.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.38, for a total value of $1,101,650.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 27,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,523,339.98. This trade represents a 12.77% 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 worth $5,970,434 in the last three months. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on ACN shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Accenture has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.88.

Key Stories 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.

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.