Accenture PLC $ACN Holdings Boosted by Bright Rock Capital Management LLC

Bright Rock Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 25.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,000 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares during the period. Accenture makes up 1.8% of Bright Rock Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Bright Rock Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $9,390,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Investors Research Corp raised its position in Accenture by 73.8% during the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 106 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Accenture by 132.6% in 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 last quarter. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in Accenture during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in Accenture in the third quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,026 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.70, for a total value of $289,024.20. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 27,181 shares in the company, valued at $7,656,887.70. This represents a 3.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,298,380.79. This represents a 30.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Price Performance

Accenture stock opened at $197.43 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $131.38 billion, a PE ratio of 16.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $223.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $244.30. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $187.00 and a one year high of $325.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.04 billion for 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%.Accenture’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.82 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 3.3%. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on Accenture from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Eighteen 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.88.

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.