92,761 Shares in Accenture PLC $ACN Purchased by Empire Life Investments Inc.

Key Points

• Empire Life Investments Inc. initiated a new position in Accenture, buying 92,761 shares valued at about $24.9 million. The stake represents roughly 1.4% of its portfolio and makes Accenture its 24th-largest holding.
• Accenture’s latest earnings beat expectations, with quarterly EPS of $2.93 versus the $2.84 consensus and revenue of $18.04 billion, up 7.8% year over year. The company also maintained strong profitability, including a 26.33% return on equity.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 3.8%. Meanwhile, analysts remain generally positive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $274.50.

Empire Life Investments Inc. bought a new stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 92,761 shares of the information technology services provider's stock, valued at approximately $24,888,000. Accenture accounts for about 1.4% of Empire Life Investments Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ACN. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,070,930 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $17,726,831,000 after purchasing an additional 854,361 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Accenture by 0.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,135,065 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $6,938,156,000 after buying an additional 118,460 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted 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 buying an additional 4,984,930 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Accenture by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,693,994 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $2,869,199,000 after buying an additional 546,198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 9.0% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 9,615,366 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $2,371,149,000 after acquiring an additional 790,580 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Accenture Price Performance

NYSE ACN opened at $169.90 on Wednesday. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $169.76 and a 1 year high of $325.71. The business's fifty day moving average is $193.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (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 business 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 posted $2.82 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.40%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. HSBC cut their price target on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Berenberg Bank started coverage on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $313.00 target price on the stock. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $274.50.

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.

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