Maxi Investments CY Ltd Makes New $4.64 Million Investment in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Maxi Investments CY Ltd acquired a new stake of 17,300 Accenture shares in Q4 valued at approximately $4.64 million, per its latest 13F filing.
• Accenture recently beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $2.93 (vs. $2.84) and $18.04B in revenue, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.63 (annualized $6.52) yielding about 3.6%.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $274.50 target despite mixed downward revisions, while the stock trades around $180 with a 52-week range of $173.52–$325.71.

Maxi Investments CY Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 17,300 shares of the information technology services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,642,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ACN. Running Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 14.3% in the third quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 57,541 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $14,190,000 after acquiring an additional 7,190 shares during the last quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Accenture by 28.8% during the 3rd quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,550 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $39,592,000 after purchasing an additional 35,900 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in Accenture by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 282,340 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $75,752,000 after purchasing an additional 61,314 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Accenture by 180.4% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 404,680 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $99,794,000 after purchasing an additional 260,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 197.2% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 141,484 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $37,960,000 after purchasing an additional 93,880 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 6th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $274.50.

Accenture Price Performance

Accenture stock opened at $180.39 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization 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 52-week low of $173.52 and a 52-week high of $325.71. 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $194.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $234.53.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) 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 net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. Accenture's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.82 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture's payout ratio is presently 53.40%.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total transaction of $1,461,130.11. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. This represents a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction 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 represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ACN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report).

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.