iA Global Asset Management Inc. Takes $68.37 Million Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Accenture, buying 254,810 shares worth about $68.4 million. The position makes Accenture its 27th-largest holding and about 0.9% of its portfolio.
• Accenture’s latest quarterly results topped expectations, with EPS of $2.93 and revenue of $18.04 billion, both above analyst forecasts. Revenue rose 7.8% year over year, and analysts expect full-year EPS of 13.87.
• The stock has seen mixed sentiment: the CEO sold shares in a pre-arranged trade, while analysts currently rate Accenture Moderate Buy with an average price target of $274.50. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share, yielding about 3.9% annually.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 254,810 shares of the information technology services provider's stock, valued at approximately $68,366,000. Accenture makes up about 0.9% of iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. May Hill Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at about $517,000. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Accenture by 56.3% in the 4th quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,934 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $519,000 after acquiring an additional 697 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its stake in Accenture by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 5,443 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,460,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Accenture by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 112,250 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $30,117,000 after acquiring an additional 5,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS grew its stake in Accenture by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 131,768 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $35,353,000 after acquiring an additional 2,575 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Accenture Price Performance

Accenture stock opened at $168.94 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $155.82 and a 12-month high of $322.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.08. The firm's 50-day moving average is $190.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.32. 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 released 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. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The company had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.80 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.82 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. Accenture's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.40%.

Insider Activity

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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered 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. HSBC lowered 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. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a "market perform" 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $274.50.

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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