Davis Asset Management L.P. Buys 100,000 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Davis Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 40.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 350,000 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 100,000 shares during the quarter. Accenture accounts for approximately 3.4% of Davis Asset Management L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Davis Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $93,905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Weitz Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Accenture by 28.8% during the third quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,550 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $39,592,000 after buying an additional 35,900 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 282,340 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $75,752,000 after purchasing an additional 61,314 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 180.4% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 404,680 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $99,794,000 after purchasing an additional 260,357 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $37,960,000 after purchasing an additional 93,880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of 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. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ACN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Accenture from $247.00 to $201.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Accenture from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer set a $201.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research note on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial downgraded shares of Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $259.89.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $169.95 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $181.79 and a 200 day moving average of $221.83. The stock has a market cap of $113.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.08. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $155.82 and a 12 month high of $317.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. Accenture’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Accenture Company 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.