TD Asset Management Inc Boosts Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• TD Asset Management increased its Accenture stake by 51.8% in the fourth quarter, adding 357,271 shares to bring its total to 1,047,474 shares valued at about $281 million.
• Accenture reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.93 versus the $2.84 estimate and revenue of $18.04 billion, up 7.8% year over year.
• The company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share, equal to a 3.7% annualized yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $266.58.

TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 51.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,047,474 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 357,271 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc owned approximately 0.17% of Accenture worth $281,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ACN. Intellectus Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 6,379 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,712,000 after buying an additional 1,435 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,238 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $869,000 after buying an additional 653 shares in the last quarter. Greenspring Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter worth $542,000. Disciplined Investors L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter worth $203,000. Finally, Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,450 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $926,000 after buying an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Accenture Price Performance

ACN stock opened at $178.14 on Thursday. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $155.82 and a 12 month high of $321.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $184.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $225.13. The stock has a market cap of $118.54 billion, a PE ratio of 14.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $17.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.82 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. Accenture's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACN has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Accenture from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $260.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Monday. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, 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. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $266.58.

About Accenture

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.