IFM Investors Pty Ltd Takes Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd initiated a new position in Accenture in the fourth quarter, buying 125,889 shares valued at about $33.8 million.
• Analysts remain mixed on the stock, but overall sentiment is still Moderate Buy, with a consensus price target of $259.89 despite several recent target cuts.
• Accenture reported solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and it continues to pay a 3.9% dividend yield based on its recent $1.63 quarterly payout.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 125,889 shares of the information technology services provider's stock, valued at approximately $33,776,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in Accenture by 96.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Steph & Co. increased its position in Accenture by 107.5% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 110 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ACN shares. HSBC dropped their price target on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Mizuho dropped their price target on Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price target on Accenture from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $259.89.

Accenture Stock Performance

NYSE ACN opened at $167.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business's 50 day moving average is $182.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.20. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $155.82 and a 12-month high of $318.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.08.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last released its 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 return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The company had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Accenture's dividend payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Accenture Company 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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