Matrix Trust Co Acquires New Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,721 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $682,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Claret Asset Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp now owns 1,143 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Accenture by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,354 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. City National Bank of Florida MSD grew its position in shares of Accenture by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. City National Bank of Florida MSD now owns 1,073 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 38.0% in the first quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 218 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, GS Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Accenture by 0.5% in the first quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 12,415 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,462,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total value of $1,710,964.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 17,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. This represents a 37.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on Accenture from $165.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Accenture from $135.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $150.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Evercore set a $250.00 price target on shares of Accenture and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Accenture currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $219.15.

Accenture Trading Up 2.3%

NYSE ACN traded up $4.35 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $197.75. 1,797,154 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,970,953. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $182.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.42. The firm has a market cap of $132.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $118.15 and a 12-month high of $291.09.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $18.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.03 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 26.53%. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.03 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 14.66 EPS for the current year.

Accenture declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 23rd that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology services provider to buy up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. Accenture’s payout ratio is presently 48.08%.

About Accenture

Accenture plc (NYSE: ACN) is a global professional services company that helps organizations improve performance, modernize operations and respond to technological and market changes. Its services span strategy and consulting, technology, operations, and managed services, with expertise across industries including communications, financial services, health care, public service, retail, manufacturing and resources.

The company provides digital transformation, cloud migration, data and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, systems integration and technology implementation services.