Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires 41,660 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group boosted its stake in Accenture by 1,981% in the fourth quarter, buying 41,660 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 43,763 shares worth about $11.7 million.
• Accenture reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.93 beating estimates and revenue of $18.04 billion topping expectations; revenue also rose 7.8% year over year.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share and drew a mostly positive Wall Street outlook, with analysts assigning a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a target price of $274.50.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 1,981.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,763 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 41,660 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Accenture were worth $11,742,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,844 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,031,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 9,276 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $2,489,000 after purchasing an additional 3,831 shares in the last quarter. Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 26.1% during the fourth quarter. Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. now owns 302,228 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $81,088,000 after purchasing an additional 62,619 shares in the last quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Karras Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at $678,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Accenture Stock Up 0.1%

ACN stock opened at $179.36 on Monday. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $155.82 and a fifty-two week high of $321.77. The business's 50-day moving average is $187.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $228.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $119.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.08.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The firm had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.82 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Accenture's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.40%.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the firm's 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a 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. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ACN. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 6th. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 target price on Accenture in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Accenture has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $274.50.

About Accenture

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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