2,867 Shares in Accenture PLC $ACN Acquired by Brindle & Bay Financial Advisors LLC

Brindle & Bay Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,867 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $769,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Accenture in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Accenture by 132.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Accenture by 96.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in Accenture by 107.5% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 110 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on Accenture in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $313.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Accenture from $317.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.50.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total transaction of $1,008,263.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 8,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,298,380.79. The trade was a 30.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.38, for a total value of $1,101,650.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 27,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,523,339.98. The trade was a 12.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,305 shares of company stock worth $3,759,847. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Accenture Trading Up 0.2%

ACN opened at $178.61 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $118.86 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.24. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $199.82 and a 200-day moving average of $237.78. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $173.84 and a 52 week high of $325.71.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 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 paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.40%.

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.