Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. Purchases 16,385 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d'investissement inc. increased its Accenture stake by 29.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 16,385 shares and bringing its total holdings to 72,620 shares worth about $19.5 million.
• Accenture shares were trading down 1.6% at $170.76, well below their 200-day moving average, though the stock still has a market cap of about $113.6 billion.
• The company recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, but analysts have trimmed price targets; the stock currently has a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target of $260.81.

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. boosted its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 29.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,620 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 16,385 shares during the period. Accenture comprises about 1.1% of Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.'s holdings in Accenture were worth $19,484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 36.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $6,486,000 after acquiring an additional 4,905 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 46.9% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $618,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. United Bank raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 49.8% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,088,000 after acquiring an additional 1,209 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 23.0% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 828 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 4.2% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Accenture Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $170.76 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $182.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $222.79. The company has a market capitalization of $113.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.08. 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 52-week low of $155.82 and a 52-week high of $321.77.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The company had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.80 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Accenture's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ACN. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Accenture from $275.00 to $248.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $260.81.

Accenture 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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