Handelsbanken Fonder AB Grows Stock Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Accenture by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, adding 11,545 shares to bring its total to 233,645 shares worth about $62.7 million.
• Accenture’s latest earnings beat estimates, with quarterly EPS of $2.93 versus $2.84 expected and revenue of $18.04 billion versus $17.80 billion forecast, while revenue rose 7.8% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but constructive: several firms cut price targets, yet the stock still carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average target price of $274.50; Accenture also pays a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share, or $6.52 annually.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 233,645 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after buying an additional 11,545 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Accenture were worth $62,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Accenture in the third quarter worth $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 96.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Steph & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 107.5% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 110 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ACN shares. Guggenheim cut their price target on Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price target on Accenture in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Accenture from $266.00 to $215.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Accenture currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $274.50.

Accenture Trading Up 4.9%

Shares of ACN stock opened at $177.16 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $189.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $230.64. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $155.82 and a 12-month high of $322.86. The firm has a market cap of $117.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.08.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The company's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Accenture's payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate 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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