Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Bought by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group increased its stake in Accenture by 1.3% in Q4 and now owns 66,070,930 shares (about 10.73% of the company), valued at roughly $17.73 billion.
• Accenture beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $2.93 versus $2.84 estimated and revenue of $18.04 billion, up 7.8% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.63 (annualized $6.52) implying a 3.7% yield; the ex-dividend date is April 9 and the payment date is May 15.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 66,070,930 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 854,361 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.73% of Accenture worth $17,726,831,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 118,460 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 41.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 4,984,930 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 5.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 546,198 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 790,580 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 4.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,050,483 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,738,649,000 after buying an additional 295,762 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Accenture Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $178.61 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $199.82 and a 200-day moving average of $237.78. The firm has a market cap of $118.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.24. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $173.84 and a twelve month high of $325.71. 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 (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.7%. Accenture's payout ratio is 53.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.38, for a total transaction of $1,101,650.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 27,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,523,339.98. The trade was a 12.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Catherine Kiernan Hogan sold 660 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.93, for a total value of $185,413.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,564,439.84. The trade was a 4.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 14,305 shares of company stock valued at $3,759,847 in the last ninety days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $266.00 to $215.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Argus decreased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $370.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 29th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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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