Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Increases Stock Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Swiss Life Asset Management boosted its Accenture stake by 12% in the fourth quarter, holding 335,314 shares worth about $89.97 million after buying 36,037 more shares.
• Accenture’s latest quarterly results topped expectations, with EPS of $2.93 versus $2.84 expected and revenue of $18.04 billion, up 7.8% from a year earlier.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive despite recent price-target cuts: Accenture has a Moderate Buy consensus, a $274.50 average target, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share.

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 335,314 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 36,037 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd owned about 0.05% of Accenture worth $89,965,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Accenture in the third quarter worth $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Accenture in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in Accenture by 96.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Steph & Co. lifted its position in Accenture by 107.5% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 110 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ACN shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price target on Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen equities research 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, Accenture currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $274.50.

Accenture Trading Down 0.0%

Accenture stock opened at $180.41 on Monday. Accenture PLC has a 52-week low of $172.52 and a 52-week high of $325.71. The company has a market cap of $120.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $194.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $234.53.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 3.6%. Accenture's payout ratio is 53.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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 the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,255 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,679,963.65. The trade was a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Accenture 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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