Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Purchased by Dash Acquisitions Inc.

Key Points

• Dash Acquisitions Inc. increased its Accenture stake by 25.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 9,728 shares and bringing its total holding to 48,438 shares worth about $13.0 million.
• Accenture reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.93 versus estimates of $2.84 and revenue of $18.04 billion, up 7.8% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 4.0%, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $274.50.

Dash Acquisitions Inc. boosted its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 25.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,438 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,728 shares during the period. Accenture accounts for about 2.5% of Dash Acquisitions Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Dash Acquisitions Inc.'s holdings in Accenture were worth $12,996,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Accenture by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 878 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Clayton Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 329 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 0.9% during the third quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. now owns 4,416 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 1.2% during the second quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,751 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,108,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, IVC Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Accenture by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 927 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $164.01 on Friday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $191.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $231.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $155.82 and a 12 month high of $324.00.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.82 EPS. Accenture's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Accenture's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on ACN. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 target price on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $274.50.

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.

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