Stevens Capital Management LP Purchases New Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,863 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,036,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Accenture in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in Accenture by 96.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Steph & Co. raised its position in Accenture by 107.5% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 110 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Berenberg Bank started coverage on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $313.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. HSBC reduced their target price on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.50.

Accenture Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $179.10 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $119.18 billion, a PE ratio of 14.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $173.56 and a 12-month high of $325.71. The company has a 50-day moving average of $195.74 and a 200 day moving average of $235.35.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total transaction of $1,461,130.11. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. The trade was a 28.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.