Accenture PLC $ACN Stock Position Lifted by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank increased its stake in Accenture by 36.6% in Q4, adding 149,357 shares to hold 557,516 shares worth about $149.58 million (roughly 0.09% of the company).
• Accenture beat the latest quarter's expectations with EPS of $2.93 vs. $2.84 and revenue of $18.04 billion; the company has a market cap of about $131.6 billion and a PE ratio of 16.19.
• Analysts rate Accenture an overall Moderate Buy with an average target of $274.50 amid mixed recent price-target changes, and the company announced a $1.63 quarterly dividend (3.3% yield).

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 36.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 557,516 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after buying an additional 149,357 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.09% of Accenture worth $149,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $6,486,000 after acquiring an additional 4,905 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Accenture by 46.9% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $618,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. United Bank increased its position in Accenture by 49.8% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 23.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 828 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ACN shares. Berenberg Bank began coverage on Accenture in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $313.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Accenture presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $274.50.

Accenture Stock Performance

NYSE:ACN opened at $197.71 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.19, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.24. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $177.50 and a 1 year 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. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $204.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.82.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.82 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Accenture's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.40%.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other Accenture news, COO Catherine Kiernan Hogan sold 660 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.93, for a total value of $185,413.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,688 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,564,439.84. The trade was a 4.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total value of $1,008,263.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 8,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,298,380.79. This trade represents a 30.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,331 shares of company stock worth $4,048,871. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

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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