CIBC Asset Management Inc Buys 69,269 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• CIBC Asset Management increased its Accenture stake by 70.9% in Q4, buying 69,269 shares and bringing its total holding to 167,033 shares valued at about $44.8 million.
• Accenture’s CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares in an SEC-disclosed transaction under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, reducing his direct ownership by 27.57%.
• Analysts remain broadly positive despite recent target cuts: Accenture has a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $266.58, while the stock was trading around $178.14 and also yields 3.7% after its latest quarterly dividend.

CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 70.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 167,033 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 69,269 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc's holdings in Accenture were worth $44,791,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 96.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Steph & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 107.5% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 110 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ACN. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. HSBC decreased their target price on shares of Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial lowered shares of Accenture from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $260.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $266.58.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $178.14 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $118.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08. Accenture PLC has a 1-year low of $155.82 and a 1-year high of $321.77. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $184.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $225.13.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $18.04 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. Accenture's dividend payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

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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