Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) is Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC’s 4th Largest Position

Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC lowered its stake in shares of Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN – Get Rating) by 0.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 220,173 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 242 shares during the quarter. Accenture comprises about 3.8% of Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $56,651,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Accenture by 33.6% in the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,858,899 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,459,673,000 after purchasing an additional 2,228,802 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 502.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,191,413 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $563,851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,827,551 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture in the second quarter worth $373,981,000. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at $185,369,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in Accenture by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,366,391 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,266,478,000 after acquiring an additional 409,980 shares in the last quarter. 73.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler downgraded Accenture from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $268.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, December 12th. StockNews.com raised Accenture from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 12th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $290.00 to $279.00 in a research note on Monday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Accenture from $306.00 to $327.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 15th. Finally, Cowen lifted their target price on Accenture from $295.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Monday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $326.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider James O. Etheredge sold 1,790 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.75, for a total transaction of $464,952.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,448,738.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider James O. Etheredge sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.11, for a total value of $1,430,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,930 shares in the company, valued at $3,985,512.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider James O. Etheredge sold 1,790 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.75, for a total transaction of $464,952.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 17,127 shares in the company, valued at $4,448,738.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 56,215 shares of company stock worth $15,562,837. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of Accenture stock traded down $8.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $266.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 462,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,208,000. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.97, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.23. Accenture plc has a 1-year low of $242.95 and a 1-year high of $360.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $280.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $282.13.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Friday, December 16th. The information technology services provider reported $3.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.17. Accenture had a return on equity of 31.49% and a net margin of 11.31%. The company had revenue of $15.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Accenture plc will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 10th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 11th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Accenture’s payout ratio is 40.69%.

Accenture Company Profile

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Accenture Plc engages in the provision of management consulting, technology, and outsourcing services. It operates through the following geographical segments: North America, Europe and Growth Markets. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.