Eldred Rock Partners LLC Increases Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Eldred Rock Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 47.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,755 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,584 shares during the quarter. Accenture accounts for approximately 3.6% of Eldred Rock Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Eldred Rock Partners LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $13,886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 36.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $6,486,000 after buying an additional 4,905 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Accenture by 46.9% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $618,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the period. United Bank raised its position in Accenture by 49.8% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,088,000 after acquiring an additional 1,209 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Accenture by 258.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,452 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,021,000 after acquiring an additional 9,703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 2nd quarter worth $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Performance

NYSE ACN opened at $201.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $187.00 and a twelve month high of $325.71. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $218.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $243.39. The firm has a market cap of $133.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.24.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its quarterly 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $17.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Argus lowered their target price on Accenture from $370.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on Accenture from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Accenture from $266.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.88.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,332 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $366,300.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 28,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,756,925. The trade was a 4.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total transaction of $1,008,263.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,298,380.79. This trade represents a 30.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 22,088 shares of company stock valued at $5,970,434 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Company 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.