Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC Buys 10,315 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 98.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 20,765 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,315 shares during the quarter. Accenture accounts for about 1.3% of Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $5,571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Investors Research Corp boosted its holdings in Accenture by 73.8% in the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 106 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Accenture by 132.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Davis Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total transaction of $1,461,130.11. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. The trade was a 28.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total value of $1,008,263.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 8,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,298,380.79. The trade was a 30.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Accenture Stock Down 1.9%

NYSE ACN opened at $192.60 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $187.00 and a 52 week high of $325.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $118.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $225.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $244.62.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The company had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is 53.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACN has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price target on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Eighteen equities research 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.88.

Accenture News Roundup

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 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.