Capital Investment Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACNFree Report) by 48.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 32,255 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,518 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $8,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Running Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in Accenture by 14.3% in the third quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 57,541 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $14,190,000 after buying an additional 7,190 shares during the last quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Accenture by 28.8% during the 3rd quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,550 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $39,592,000 after buying an additional 35,900 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Accenture during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,216,850,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 258,599 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $63,771,000 after acquiring an additional 38,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 180.4% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 404,680 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $99,794,000 after acquiring an additional 260,357 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Manish Sharma sold 2,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.13, for a total value of $786,883.03. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,033,333.41. This trade represents a 27.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total value of $1,461,130.11. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. The trade was a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on ACN. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Accenture presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.88.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Accenture

Key Stories Impacting Accenture

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

Accenture Stock Performance

NYSE ACN opened at $192.60 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $225.44 and a 200 day moving average of $244.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.77, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.27.

Accenture (NYSE:ACNGet Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The business had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.82 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.40%.

Accenture Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Accenture (NYSE:ACN)

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