Broyhill Asset Management LLC Makes New $2.01 Million Investment in Accenture PLC $ACN

Broyhill Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,504 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,013,000. Accenture accounts for approximately 1.8% of Broyhill Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ACN. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 96.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $169.95 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $155.82 and a fifty-two week high of $317.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $113.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $221.83.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. Accenture’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 is 53.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACN has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Accenture from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 1st. Truist Financial lowered shares of Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $260.00 to $210.00 in a report on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced 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. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.89.

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.