Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Purchases 22,784 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 26.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 110,149 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 22,784 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Accenture were worth $29,553,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ACN. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Accenture by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,070,930 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $17,726,831,000 after acquiring an additional 854,361 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Accenture by 0.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 118,460 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,128,134 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $4,223,839,000 after purchasing an additional 4,984,930 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,693,994 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $2,869,199,000 after purchasing an additional 546,198 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Accenture by 9.0% during 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 in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on ACN. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price target on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Accenture has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $274.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total value of $1,461,130.11. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. This represents a 28.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Accenture Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $179.10 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average is $195.74 and its 200 day moving average is $235.35. 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 PLC has a 1 year low of $173.56 and a 1 year high of $325.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Accenture's dividend 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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