AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its holdings in Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN – Get Rating) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,008 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc’s holdings in Accenture were worth $536,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 33.6% during the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,858,899 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,459,673,000 after acquiring an additional 2,228,802 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Accenture by 502.3% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,191,413 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $563,851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,827,551 shares during the period. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 41.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 5,457,405 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,404,190,000 after buying an additional 1,603,071 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $373,981,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $318,306,000. 73.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several brokerages recently weighed in on ACN. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Monday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Accenture from $310.00 to $327.00 in a report on Friday. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Monday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $311.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $317.56.
Accenture Price Performance
Accenture (NYSE:ACN – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 23rd. The information technology services provider reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.20. Accenture had a net margin of 11.31% and a return on equity of 31.49%. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Accenture plc will post 11.42 EPS for the current year.
Accenture Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 12th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 41.25%.
Insider Activity at Accenture
In other news, insider James O. Etheredge sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.11, for a total transaction of $1,430,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,985,512.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider James O. Etheredge sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.11, for a total transaction of $1,430,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,985,512.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ellyn Shook sold 5,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.08, for a total transaction of $1,449,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,444 shares in the company, valued at $9,509,299.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,475 shares of company stock valued at $10,225,149 over the last quarter. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.
About Accenture
Accenture Plc engages in the provision of management consulting, technology, and outsourcing services. It operates through the following geographical segments: North America, Europe and Growth Markets. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.
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