MBA Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 2,928 Accenture PLC $ACN

MBA Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,928 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $786,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Accenture by 41.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 4,984,930 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at $311,694,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 12.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,148,970 shares during the period. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture during the third quarter worth $268,578,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 85.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,041,945 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $503,544,000 after purchasing an additional 943,371 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of ACN opened at $201.18 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $217.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $243.20. Accenture PLC has a 52-week low of $187.00 and a 52-week high of $325.71. 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 has a market capitalization of $133.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.24.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The firm had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ACN shares. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.88.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other news, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total value of $1,008,263.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,298,380.79. The trade was a 30.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. The trade was a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.