Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Purchases 27,775 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE raised its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 105.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 54,020 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,775 shares during the quarter. Accenture makes up 1.2% of Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Accenture were worth $14,494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Accenture by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 878 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Clayton Financial Group LLC grew its position in Accenture by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 329 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. raised its position in Accenture by 0.9% in the third quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. now owns 4,416 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Peak Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Accenture by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC now owns 5,447 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,461,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,751 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Accenture from $282.00 to $258.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Citigroup cut their price objective on Accenture from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $201.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a report on Monday. 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 MarketBeat, Accenture presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $260.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Accenture Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of ACN opened at $170.76 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s fifty day moving average is $182.94 and its 200 day moving average is $222.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $155.82 and a fifty-two week high of $321.77.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released 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. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The business had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.82 earnings per share. Accenture’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th were given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.