Merit Financial Group LLC Has $8.26 Million Stake in Accenture PLC $ACN

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 37.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,790 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,389 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $8,261,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 1,324.9% during the fourth quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 104,515 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $28,041,000 after purchasing an additional 97,180 shares in the last quarter. Marion Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Marion Wealth Management now owns 14,706 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. Argo Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,182,000. Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 8,676 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,328,000 after buying an additional 1,091 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 123,821 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $33,221,000 after buying an additional 30,037 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Accenture Stock Up 1.9%

NYSE:ACN opened at $197.71 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $177.50 and a 12-month high of $325.71. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $131.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $204.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $239.90.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.82 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACN has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. HSBC lowered their target price on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $313.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.50.

Insider Activity

In other Accenture news, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total transaction of $1,008,263.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,298,380.79. The trade was a 30.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,026 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.70, for a total value of $289,024.20. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 27,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,656,887.70. This represents a 3.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,331 shares of company stock valued at $4,048,871. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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.