Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC Raises Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC increased its Accenture stake by 29% in the fourth quarter, buying 8,944 additional shares and bringing its total to 39,755 shares worth about $10.7 million.
• Accenture’s latest quarterly results topped expectations, with earnings of $2.93 per share and revenue of $18.04 billion, both above analyst estimates. Revenue also rose 7.8% year over year.
• Analysts remain cautiously positive on the stock despite several target price cuts, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.50. The company also recently paid a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share, or $6.52 annually.

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC boosted its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 29.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,755 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after buying an additional 8,944 shares during the period. Accenture accounts for approximately 1.5% of Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Accenture were worth $10,666,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ACN. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Accenture by 41.1% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,128,134 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $4,223,839,000 after buying an additional 4,984,930 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Accenture in the third quarter worth about $311,694,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Accenture by 12.8% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,147,796 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $2,502,446,000 after buying an additional 1,148,970 shares during the period. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in Accenture in the third quarter worth about $268,578,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Accenture by 85.9% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,041,945 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $503,544,000 after buying an additional 943,371 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. HSBC lowered their target price 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. Mizuho lowered their target price 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. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $274.50.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $168.94 on Monday. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $155.82 and a twelve month high of $322.86. The firm has a market cap of $112.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.84, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a 50 day moving average of $190.50 and a 200 day moving average of $231.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.82 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. Accenture's payout ratio is presently 53.40%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.