Ascent Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 26.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,457 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,328 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $5,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Accenture by 0.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 118,460 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 41.1% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,128,134 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,223,839,000 after buying an additional 4,984,930 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,148,970 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Accenture by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 9,615,366 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,371,149,000 after acquiring an additional 790,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Accenture by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,050,483 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,738,649,000 after acquiring an additional 295,762 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Accenture news, insider Manish Sharma sold 2,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.13, for a total transaction of $786,883.03. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,033,333.41. This trade represents a 27.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at $3,679,963.65. This trade represents a 28.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Down 0.1%

ACN opened at $201.18 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $133.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $217.22 and its 200 day moving average is $243.19. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $187.00 and a fifty-two week high of $325.71.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Accenture from $266.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, HSBC raised Accenture from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $220.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.88.

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.