EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN – Get Rating) by 284.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,007 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,727 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $7,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. CI Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 59,876 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $16,625,000 after purchasing an additional 2,087 shares during the last quarter. Dubuque Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in Accenture by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dubuque Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,233 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC grew its stake in Accenture by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 2,866 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $771,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp grew its stake in Accenture by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 4,480 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Korea Investment CORP grew its stake in Accenture by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 597,757 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $165,967,000 after buying an additional 24,630 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.97% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research firms recently issued reports on ACN. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Accenture in a research note on Monday, January 30th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $289.00 target price on the stock. Cowen increased their price target on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $300.00 in a report on Monday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Accenture from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Accenture from $290.00 to $279.00 in a report on Monday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Accenture from $306.00 to $327.00 in a report on Thursday, December 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $322.80.
Accenture Stock Performance
ACN traded down $7.84 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $244.64. The company had a trading volume of 1,718,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,072,934. The company has a market capitalization of $154.18 billion, a PE ratio of 22.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.25. Accenture plc has a twelve month low of $242.95 and a twelve month high of $345.30. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $274.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $275.84.
Accenture (NYSE:ACN – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 16th. The information technology services provider reported $3.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $15.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.58 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 11.31% and a return on equity of 31.49%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Accenture plc will post 11.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Accenture Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 10th were given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 11th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is 40.69%.
Insider Transactions at Accenture
In other news, insider Ellyn Shook sold 5,250 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 34,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,509,299.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Ellyn Shook sold 5,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 34,444 shares in the company, valued at $9,509,299.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paula A. Price sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.77, for a total transaction of $194,077.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,732,982.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,015 shares of company stock worth $10,884,179 in the last quarter. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company 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.
