TD Asset Management Inc Raises Stock Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 51.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,047,474 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 357,271 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Accenture were worth $281,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ACN. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,146,995,000. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Accenture by 41.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 4,984,930 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the third quarter worth approximately $311,694,000. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the third quarter worth approximately $268,578,000. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 969,792 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Stock Down 4.3%

Shares of ACN stock opened at $178.14 on Thursday. Accenture PLC has a 1-year low of $155.82 and a 1-year high of $321.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $184.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $225.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $118.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced 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. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.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 business earned $2.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s payout ratio is 53.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $266.58.

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.