Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group raised its stake in Accenture by 3.1% to 764,460 shares (worth about $205.1M), and institutional investors now own roughly 75.14% of the company.
• Accenture beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $2.93 vs. $2.84 expected and revenue of $18.04B (up 7.8% year-over-year).
• Analysts hold a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with a $274.50 average target while ACN trades near $179.10; the company also pays a $1.63 quarterly dividend (3.6% yield).

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 764,460 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 22,733 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Accenture worth $205,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 41.1% during the 3rd 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $311,694,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 12.8% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 1,148,970 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $268,578,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Accenture by 85.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,041,945 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $503,544,000 after buying an additional 943,371 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. HSBC cut their target price on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Accenture presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $274.50.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of ACN stock opened at $179.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $195.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $235.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.18 billion, a PE ratio of 14.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $173.56 and a 52 week high of $325.71.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.40%.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other Accenture 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total transaction of $1,461,130.11. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at $3,679,963.65. The trade was a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

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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