Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Purchased by Value Partners Investments Inc.

Value Partners Investments Inc. raised its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 1,984.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 177,624 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 169,104 shares during the period. Accenture comprises 3.7% of Value Partners Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Value Partners Investments Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $47,669,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 0.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,135,065 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $6,938,156,000 after buying an additional 118,460 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Accenture by 41.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 4,984,930 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,148,970 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC grew its holdings in Accenture by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 9,615,366 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,371,149,000 after acquiring an additional 790,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,216,850,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,026 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,656,887.70. The trade was a 3.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.38, for a total transaction of $1,101,650.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 27,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,523,339.98. This trade represents a 12.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 22,088 shares of company stock valued at $5,970,434 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ACN shares. Berenberg Bank started coverage on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $313.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Argus decreased their price target on Accenture from $370.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price objective on Accenture in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Eighteen research 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.00.

More Accenture News

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 beat and record bookings — Accenture reported EPS and revenue above expectations and said bookings remain strong, driven by AI and cloud demand; that underpins longer-term growth potential. BusinessWire: Q2 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic partnerships and product wins — New collaborations (notably with Microsoft on agentic security) and ongoing AI initiatives support deal pipeline and cross-sell opportunities. BusinessWire: Microsoft Collaboration
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns — Board announced a quarterly dividend (ex-dividend April 9) reinforcing cash return policy and yielding ~3.2%, which can support investor demand for the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Selective analyst upgrades — HSBC moved to “hold” with a $220 target and a few firms maintain outperform/buy ratings even as they trim targets; sentiment among sell‑side analysts is mixed. Finviz: HSBC Upgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple price-target cuts — Several brokers trimmed targets (BMO to $230, RBC to $253, Guggenheim to $250, Robert W. Baird to $265) after the quarter, increasing near‑term downside perception despite differing ratings. Benzinga: Analyst Moves TickerReport
• Negative Sentiment: Cautious revenue outlook — Management’s near-term revenue guidance came in below some Street expectations and the company warned of client caution on large IT transformation spending, which is the key driver of today’s weakness. Reuters: Revenue Forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downward revisions and stock reaction — Several analysts cut earnings/forecasts after the print and the stock is declining on higher-than-normal volume, reflecting profit‑taking and concern about near‑term execution and AI disruption risks. Benzinga: Forecast Cuts

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of ACN opened at $200.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.41. Accenture PLC has a 1-year low of $187.00 and a 1-year high of $325.71. The stock has a market cap of $123.38 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $234.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $246.68.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.82 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Accenture’s payout ratio is 53.40%.

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.