Alpha Cubed Investments LLC Takes $14.44 Million Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Alpha Cubed Investments opened a new position of 53,828 shares in Accenture in Q4, valued at approximately $14.44 million.
• Accenture beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $2.93 (vs. $2.84) and revenue of $18.04 billion (up 7.8% YoY), and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share (3.6% yield).
• Analysts hold a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $274.50, and institutional investors own about 75.1% of the stock.

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 53,828 shares of the information technology services provider's stock, valued at approximately $14,442,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Birch Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC now owns 23,063 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $6,188,000 after acquiring an additional 3,827 shares during the last quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Accenture in the fourth quarter worth $231,000. Falcon Wealth Planning bought a new stake in Accenture in the fourth quarter worth $252,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Accenture by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 764,460 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $205,105,000 after buying an additional 22,733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Accenture by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 95,414 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $25,600,000 after buying an additional 5,498 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Accenture Stock Performance

ACN stock opened at $179.10 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $195.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $235.35. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $173.56 and a twelve month high of $325.71. The firm has a market cap of $119.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last released its 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 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 analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.6%. Accenture's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Accenture currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $274.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total transaction of $1,461,130.11. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. This trade represents a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company 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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