Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Cuts Stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN)

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. has reduced its holdings in Accenture PLC by 0.8%, now owning 186,970 shares valued at approximately $58.34 million after selling 1,555 shares in the first quarter.
• Accenture recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.48 per share, which will be paid on August 15, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 2.3%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Accenture, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target average of $360.21, while some major financial firms have downgraded their target prices for the stock.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 186,970 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 1,555 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in Accenture were worth $58,342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ACN. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Accenture in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Accenture in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Accenture in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Accenture in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Accenture in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Stock Down 4.5%

NYSE:ACN traded down $11.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $255.18. 6,041,752 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,832,535. The company has a market capitalization of $159.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.46. The company has a fifty day moving average of $297.98 and a 200 day moving average of $319.10. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $254.20 and a twelve month high of $398.35.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The information technology services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $17.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.26 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 11.61%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.13 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Accenture's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Accenture news, COO John F. Walsh sold 2,500 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.00, for a total transaction of $812,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 15,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,161,650. This trade represents a 13.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mauro Macchi sold 500 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.34, for a total value of $141,170.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at $644,582.22. The trade was a 17.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,454 shares of company stock worth $1,646,780. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on ACN. Benchmark reiterated a "mixed" rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Friday, June 20th. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Accenture in a research note on Monday, July 28th. They issued a "reduce" rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $355.00 to $325.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $360.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $360.21.

Accenture Profile

Accenture plc, a professional services company, provides strategy and consulting, industry X, song, and technology and operation services worldwide. The company offers application services, including agile transformation, DevOps, application modernization, enterprise architecture, software and quality engineering, data management; intelligent automation comprising robotic process automation, natural language processing, and virtual agents; and application management services, as well as software engineering services; strategy and consulting services; data and analytics strategy, data discovery and augmentation, data management and beyond, data democratization, and industrialized solutions comprising turnkey analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions; metaverse; and sustainability services.