Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Purchases 30,419 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Axxcess Wealth Management increased its Accenture stake by 126.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 30,419 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 54,502 shares worth about $14.6 million.
• Accenture reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.93 versus $2.84 expected and revenue of $18.04 billion versus $17.80 billion expected. Revenue rose 7.8% year over year.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $1.63, or $6.52 annualized, for a yield of 3.6%. Meanwhile, analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $274.50, though several firms recently lowered targets.

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 126.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 54,502 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after buying an additional 30,419 shares during the quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Accenture were worth $14,623,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Accenture by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 878 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC grew its position in Accenture by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 329 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. grew its position in 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 valued at $1,089,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 valued at $1,108,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Peak Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Accenture by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC now owns 5,447 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,461,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of ACN stock opened at $179.36 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $155.82 and a 12 month high of $321.77. The stock has a market cap of $119.35 billion, a PE ratio of 14.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.08. 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 company's fifty day moving average price is $187.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $228.79.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The company 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 business posted $2.82 EPS. Accenture's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Accenture's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price 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. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, HSBC decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $274.50.

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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