Handelsbanken Fonder AB Increases Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 233,645 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,545 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Accenture were worth $62,687,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ACN. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Accenture by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,128,134 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,223,839,000 after purchasing an additional 4,984,930 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at about $311,694,000. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at about $268,578,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Accenture by 85.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,041,945 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $503,544,000 after purchasing an additional 943,371 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Accenture by 268.3% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,252,334 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $308,826,000 after purchasing an additional 912,348 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on ACN shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Berenberg Bank started coverage on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $313.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.50.

Accenture Stock Performance

ACN stock opened at $177.16 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.89 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.08. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $155.82 and a 12-month high of $322.86. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $189.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $230.64.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. The trade was 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. 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.