ARGA Investment Management LP Invests $6.93 Million in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• ARGA Investment Management LP opened a new position in Accenture (NYSE:ACN) during Q4, buying 25,838 shares valued at about $6.93 million, while institutional investors and hedge funds own roughly 75.14% of the stock.
• Accenture beat quarterly expectations (EPS $2.93 vs. $2.84; revenue $18.04B vs. $17.80B, up 7.8% year‑over‑year) and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share (annualized $6.52, yield ~3.7%, payable May 15, ex‑dividend April 9).
• CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares (~$1.46M), trimming her stake by 28.4%, even as Accenture accelerates its AI strategy (rolling out Microsoft Copilot to ~743,000 employees and expanding its Google Cloud partnership), driving renewed investor interest and an average analyst rating of Moderate Buy (avg. price target $274.50).

ARGA Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 25,838 shares of the information technology services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,932,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Accenture by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 878 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Accenture by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 329 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. grew its holdings in Accenture by 0.9% during the third quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. now owns 4,416 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Accenture by 1.2% during the second quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,751 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IVC Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Accenture by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 927 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total transaction of $1,461,130.11. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. The trade was a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Accenture Stock Down 1.0%

ACN opened at $176.66 on Tuesday. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $173.84 and a fifty-two week high of $325.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $198.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $237.14. The company has a market capitalization of $117.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.24.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. The company 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 previous year, the business earned $2.82 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture's payout ratio is presently 53.40%.

Key Stories Impacting Accenture

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Accenture will roll out Microsoft Copilot 365 to all ~743,000 employees, the largest enterprise deployment of Copilot and a major signal of deep Microsoft partnership and internal productivity adoption at scale. This is being viewed as a strategic win for Accenture’s AI services pipeline. Accenture to roll out Copilot to all 743,000 employees in boost for Microsoft
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture expanded its partnership with Google Cloud (including Gemini Enterprise acceleration), reinforcing its multi‑cloud AI services capability and creating more routes to sell AI transformation projects to enterprise clients. Accenture plc (ACN) Announces Expansion of Partnership with Google Cloud
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture’s aggressive AI moves are drawing renewed investor interest (including potential index attention for Russell 1000 investors), which could support demand for the stock as AI spending becomes a larger part of consulting revenues. Accenture’s AI Move Sparks New Interest In Russell 1000 Index
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture announced a strategic collaboration with NSK to drive business reinvention through AI and digital tech — another example of deal flow at the client level that supports recurring consulting revenue. NSK and Accenture Forge Strategic Collaboration to Drive Business Reinvention Through AI and Digital Technology
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary highlights Accenture as a value candidate (many analysts still rate ACN a Buy and point to upside versus current levels), which may limit downside if fundamentals remain solid. Here’s Why Accenture (ACN) Is a Good Stock to Buy While the Market Is Down
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts flag valuation pressure and sector jitters: recent research notes a meaningful share‑price decline over recent months and questions about near‑term consulting demand, which is weighing on the stock. Assessing Accenture NYSE: ACN Valuation As New AI Alliances With Google Cloud Microsoft And Piraeus Bank Take Shape
• Negative Sentiment: Competition from infrastructure/AI‑oriented names (e.g., Vertiv) and stronger AI data‑center demand could shift some investor dollars away from traditional consulting stocks if hardware and infrastructure plays capture more of the AI investment cycle. ACN vs. VRT: Which IT Services Stock Is Better Placed at Present?

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Citigroup lowered their price target on Accenture from $266.00 to $215.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.

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