CX Institutional Purchases 6,517 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• CX Institutional increased its stake in Accenture by 29.1% in Q4, acquiring 6,517 shares to hold 28,948 shares worth about $7.77 million per its latest 13F filing.
• Accenture beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $2.93 versus $2.84 estimated and reported revenue of $18.04 billion, up 7.8% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.63 (annualized $6.52, yield 3.6%); institutional investors own about 75.14% of the stock and analysts rate the shares a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $274.50, despite several recent target cuts.

CX Institutional boosted its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 29.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,948 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,517 shares during the period. CX Institutional's holdings in Accenture were worth $7,767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Running Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 57,541 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $14,190,000 after acquiring an additional 7,190 shares during the last quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 28.8% in the 3rd quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,550 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $39,592,000 after acquiring an additional 35,900 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 258,599 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $63,771,000 after acquiring an additional 38,325 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 282,340 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $75,752,000 after acquiring an additional 61,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 180.4% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 404,680 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $99,794,000 after acquiring an additional 260,357 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Accenture Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of ACN opened at $179.96 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a 1-year low of $173.65 and a 1-year high of $325.71. The company has a 50-day moving average of $196.46 and a 200 day moving average of $235.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 53.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $266.00 to $215.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $274.50.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total transaction of $1,461,130.11. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at $3,679,963.65. This trade represents a 28.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 10,943 shares of company stock worth $2,327,545 in the last three months. 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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