Quent Long Short Global Small Cap Fund LP Makes New $918,000 Investment in Accenture PLC $ACN

Quent Long Short Global Small Cap Fund LP bought a new position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,422 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $918,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 132.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 96.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Accenture Trading Down 6.1%

Shares of ACN opened at $178.49 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $200.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $238.35. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $174.87 and a twelve month high of $325.71. The stock has a market cap of $118.77 billion, a PE ratio of 14.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.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 business posted $2.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on ACN. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Accenture from $317.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price objective on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total value of $1,461,130.11. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. This represents a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total transaction of $1,008,263.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,298,380.79. The trade was a 30.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 14,305 shares of company stock worth $3,759,847. Company 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.