Willis Investment Counsel Buys 5,271 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Willis Investment Counsel raised its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 193,768 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,271 shares during the quarter. Accenture makes up about 2.7% of Willis Investment Counsel’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Accenture were worth $51,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 0.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,135,065 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $6,938,156,000 after acquiring an additional 118,460 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 41.1% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,128,134 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,223,839,000 after acquiring an additional 4,984,930 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 12.8% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,147,796 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,502,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,148,970 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 9.0% in the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 9,615,366 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,371,149,000 after acquiring an additional 790,580 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 4.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,050,483 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,738,649,000 after acquiring an additional 295,762 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Down 1.7%

ACN stock opened at $193.92 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $129.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.24. 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’s fifty day moving average is $212.48 and its 200 day moving average is $242.27. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $187.00 and a one year high of $325.71.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) 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. The company had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.82 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACN has been the topic of a number of research reports. HSBC upgraded shares of Accenture from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 6th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on shares of Accenture from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total transaction of $1,461,130.11. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,679,963.65. This trade represents a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.38, for a total transaction of $1,101,650.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,523,339.98. The trade was a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,256 shares of company stock valued at $5,464,134. 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.