JLB & Associates Inc. Makes New Investment in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• JLB & Associates bought a new stake of 52,350 shares of Accenture (NYSE:ACN) in Q4, valued at about $14.05 million, making the position roughly 1.9% of its holdings and its 21st-largest holding.
• Insider selling was notable: Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares at an average $177.14 under a Rule 10b5‑1 plan and Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares at an average $241.23, with corporate insiders now owning about 0.02% of the stock.
• Analysts and fundamentals: the consensus rating is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $274.50 (17 Buys, 10 Holds); Accenture recently beat quarterly estimates (EPS $2.93 vs. $2.84; revenue $18.04B) and declared a $1.63 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~3.6%).

JLB & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 52,350 shares of the information technology services provider's stock, valued at approximately $14,046,000. Accenture comprises about 1.9% of JLB & Associates Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Accenture by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 878 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Clayton Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Accenture by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 329 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Accenture by 0.9% during the third quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. now owns 4,416 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 1.2% in the second quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,751 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IVC Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Accenture by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 927 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total transaction of $1,461,130.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at $3,679,963.65. This represents a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ACN. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. HSBC dropped their price objective on 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 target price on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $274.50.

Accenture Trading Up 3.3%

ACN opened at $180.39 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 firm has a market cap of $120.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.08. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $173.52 and a 12 month high of $325.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $194.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $234.53.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. 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.