Aviva PLC Raises Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Aviva PLC increased its stake in Accenture by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, ending with 633,069 shares valued at about $169.9 million. Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other investors holding 75.14% of the company.
• Accenture CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares in a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 transaction, reducing his direct holdings by 27.57%. Company insiders currently own just 0.02% of the stock.
• Accenture reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.93 and revenue of $18.04 billion, and it recently paid a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share. Shares were down 1.6% to $167.69, while analysts still rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $259.89.

Aviva PLC raised its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 633,069 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 25,214 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC owned approximately 0.10% of Accenture worth $169,852,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ACN. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth $2,146,995,000. Capital International Investors lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 4,984,930 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at $311,694,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Accenture by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,173,338 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $2,192,907,000 after buying an additional 1,122,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at $268,578,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Accenture Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of ACN stock opened at $167.69 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $111.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.73, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.08. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $155.82 and a 52 week high of $318.62. 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 company's fifty day simple moving average is $182.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $222.20.

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

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Accenture's payout ratio is 53.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $275.00 to $248.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $247.00 to $201.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $282.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Accenture presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $259.89.

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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