Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Boosts Stock Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 335,314 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,037 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Accenture were worth $89,965,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. boosted its position in Accenture by 107.5% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 110 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered 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. HSBC reduced their target price on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.50.

Accenture Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of ACN opened at $180.41 on Monday. Accenture PLC has a 52-week low of $172.52 and a 52-week high of $325.71. The company has a market capitalization of $120.05 billion, a PE ratio of 14.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $234.53. 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 issued its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.82 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

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 stock was 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 owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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.