Eurizon SLJ Capital Ltd Acquires Shares of 22,581 Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Eurizon SLJ Capital Ltd disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Accenture, buying 22,581 shares valued at about $6.06 million. The position represents roughly 2.4% of its portfolio and is its 14th-largest holding.
• Accenture reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $2.93 per share versus $2.84 expected and revenue of $18.04 billion, up 7.8% year over year. The company also beat last year’s EPS of $2.82.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share, annualizing to $6.52 and a yield of 3.5%. Meanwhile, analysts remain moderately bullish overall, with a consensus target price of $274.50 despite several recent target cuts.

Eurizon SLJ Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 22,581 shares of the information technology services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,058,000. Accenture makes up approximately 2.4% of Eurizon SLJ Capital Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Steph & Co. grew its position 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 buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of ACN opened at $187.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $155.82 and a twelve month high of $321.77. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $185.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $226.50. The firm has a market cap of $124.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.08.

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 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 firm had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Accenture's payout ratio is presently 53.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on ACN. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Accenture from $317.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. HSBC reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective 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. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $274.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value 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. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 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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