Kendall Capital Management Has $3.17 Million Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Kendall Capital Management lifted its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 61.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,814 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,484 shares during the period. Kendall Capital Management’s holdings in Accenture were worth $3,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Running Oak Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Accenture by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 57,541 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $14,190,000 after purchasing an additional 7,190 shares during the period. Weitz Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 28.8% during the 3rd quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,550 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $39,592,000 after purchasing an additional 35,900 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in shares of Accenture by 17.4% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 258,599 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $63,771,000 after buying an additional 38,325 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted 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 valued at $99,794,000 after buying an additional 260,357 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in Accenture by 25.5% during the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 22,401 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $5,524,000 after buying an additional 4,552 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total value of $1,008,263.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 8,179 shares of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Manish Sharma sold 2,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.13, for a total value of $786,883.03. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,033,333.41. This trade represents a 27.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Accenture Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of ACN stock opened at $201.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $133.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.24. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $187.00 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 50-day moving average price of $218.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $243.39.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The firm had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on ACN shares. TD Cowen cut their price target on Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Accenture currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.88.

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.