Heritage Investors Management Corp Trims Stock Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Heritage Investors Management Corp trimmed its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,865 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 4,256 shares during the period. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in Accenture were worth $19,550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Accenture in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the third quarter worth $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 96.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 107.5% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 110 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $177.94 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $118.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.57, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.08. 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 $155.82 and a 1 year high of $321.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $187.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $229.13.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Accenture announced a strategic investment in XBOW, an agentic AI-powered autonomous cybersecurity testing platform, through Accenture Ventures. The move expands its AI and cybersecurity capabilities and could help it offer more advanced security services to clients. Accenture (ACN) Invests in AI-Driven Security Platform XBOW
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture also unveiled a collaboration with HUMAIN to accelerate AI adoption across Saudi Arabia’s public and private sectors, positioning the company as a strategic AI partner in a growing international market. HUMAIN and Accenture Accelerate AI Adoption at Scale Across Public and Private Sectors in Saudi Arabia
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent market commentary says Accenture has outperformed the broader market in the latest session, while also noting the stock remains well below its recent highs after a steep year-long decline. This reflects improving short-term momentum, but the bigger picture is still tied to whether AI-related wins can translate into stronger earnings growth. Accenture (ACN) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on ACN. 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. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Guggenheim cut their target price on Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.50.

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.