Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN – Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 58,222 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,545,000.
Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 282,340 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $75,752,000 after acquiring an additional 61,314 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Accenture by 197.2% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 141,484 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $37,960,000 after acquiring an additional 93,880 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Accenture by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 557,516 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $149,582,000 after purchasing an additional 149,357 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Accenture by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,070,930 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $17,726,831,000 after purchasing an additional 854,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in Accenture by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 335,314 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $89,965,000 after purchasing an additional 36,037 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.
Accenture Price Performance
Accenture stock opened at $141.11 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $155.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $197.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $94.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.13. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $118.15 and a 52 week high of $291.09.
Accenture Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.08%.
Accenture declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Accenture from $225.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Berenberg Bank dropped their price objective on Accenture from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Accenture from $210.00 to $185.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $186.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Accenture from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $192.96.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Accenture
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale 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.
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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