Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Stake in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its Accenture stake by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, adding 218,719 shares and bringing its total holding to 14.66 million shares worth about $3.92 billion.
• Accenture reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.93 beating estimates and revenue of $18.04 billion topping forecasts, while revenue rose 7.8% year over year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share, and analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $274.50, though several firms recently cut their targets.

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,656,436 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 218,719 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.38% of Accenture worth $3,922,212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Accenture by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 878 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Accenture by 13.1% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. raised its holdings in Accenture by 0.9% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Accenture by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC now owns 5,447 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,461,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Accenture by 1.2% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Accenture Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $176.69 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. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $155.82 and a 12 month high of $321.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.58 billion, a PE ratio of 14.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $186.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $227.25.

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

Accenture Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. HSBC lowered their price target on shares of Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $274.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

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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