Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY Boosts Stock Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Matrix Asset Advisors boosted its stake in Accenture by 110.6% in Q4 to 19,679 shares, worth about $5.28 million at the end of the period.
• Company insiders have been selling recently — including the COO and CEO — with a total of 22,088 shares sold (~$5.97 million) in the last three months, and corporate insiders now own just 0.02% of the stock.
• Analysts have a consensus of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $274.88; Accenture recently beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates and announced a $1.63 quarterly dividend (3.3% yield).

Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY lifted its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 110.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,679 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,334 shares during the quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY's holdings in Accenture were worth $5,280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Accenture by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,135,065 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $6,938,156,000 after buying an additional 118,460 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,128,134 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $4,223,839,000 after acquiring an additional 4,984,930 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,147,796 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $2,502,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,148,970 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 9.0% in the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 9,615,366 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $2,371,149,000 after purchasing an additional 790,580 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Accenture by 4.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,050,483 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,738,649,000 after purchasing an additional 295,762 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In related news, COO Catherine Kiernan Hogan sold 660 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.93, for a total value of $185,413.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,564,439.84. The trade was a 4.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.38, for a total value of $1,101,650.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 27,221 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,523,339.98. This trade represents a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ACN shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on shares of Accenture from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on Accenture from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $274.88.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of ACN opened at $196.98 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $220.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $243.69. The stock has a market cap of $131.08 billion, a PE ratio of 16.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.27. Accenture PLC has a 1-year low of $187.00 and a 1-year high of $325.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. 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 net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The firm had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. 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 12.73 EPS for the current 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 paid 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 3.3%. 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.

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