Eurizon SLJ Capital Ltd Invests $6.06 Million in Accenture PLC $ACN

Eurizon SLJ Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 22,581 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,058,000. Accenture accounts for approximately 2.4% of Eurizon SLJ Capital Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ACN. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 41.1% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,128,134 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,223,839,000 after purchasing an additional 4,984,930 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the third quarter worth $311,694,000. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the third quarter worth $268,578,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Accenture by 287.0% during the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 1,307,722 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $350,862,000 after buying an additional 969,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Accenture by 85.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,041,945 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $503,544,000 after buying an additional 943,371 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Price Performance

NYSE:ACN opened at $187.32 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $155.82 and a one year high of $321.77. The company has a market cap of $124.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $185.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $226.50. 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 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 firm had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.82 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $266.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Truist Financial lowered their target price 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. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Accenture has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.50.

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.