Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Has $21.58 Million Stake in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management increased its Accenture stake by 21.3% in the fourth quarter, ending with 80,421 shares worth about $21.58 million.
• Accenture reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $2.93 per share and revenue of $18.04 billion, both topping analyst estimates. Revenue rose 7.8% year over year.
• The company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 3.8%, while analysts maintain a generally constructive view with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 21.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,421 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after buying an additional 14,132 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC's holdings in Accenture were worth $21,577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ACN. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Accenture by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $6,486,000 after buying an additional 4,905 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Accenture by 46.9% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $618,000 after buying an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. United Bank increased its position in Accenture by 49.8% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,088,000 after buying an additional 1,209 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in Accenture by 23.0% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 828 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its position in Accenture by 4.2% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $528,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Accenture Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE ACN opened at $169.95 on Monday. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $221.68. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $155.82 and a twelve month high of $317.30. The stock has a market cap of $113.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.92, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.09.

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 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 business had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.84 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th were paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. Accenture's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $177.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a report on Monday. Finally, HSBC decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $257.56.

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.

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.