Advisory Services Network LLC Acquires 545 Shares of Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN)

Advisory Services Network LLC increased its holdings in shares of Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,990 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 545 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $7,622,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Chilton Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Accenture by 180.0% in the fourth quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 70 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in Accenture by 507.7% in the 1st quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 79 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. grew its position in shares of Accenture by 214.8% in the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 85 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In related news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 4,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.12, for a total transaction of $1,369,747.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 30,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,705,516.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Ellyn Shook sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.22, for a total transaction of $1,536,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,699 shares in the company, valued at $4,208,606.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 4,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.12, for a total transaction of $1,369,747.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 30,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,705,516.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of ACN traded up $9.97 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $307.96. The stock had a trading volume of 869,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,876,756. The stock has a market capitalization of $193.00 billion, a PE ratio of 27.29, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.23. Accenture plc has a 12 month low of $278.69 and a 12 month high of $387.51. The company’s 50-day moving average is $298.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $333.43.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The information technology services provider reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by ($0.02). Accenture had a net margin of 10.79% and a return on equity of 27.48%. The firm had revenue of $16.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Accenture plc will post 11.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 11th. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 47.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on ACN shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Accenture from $395.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $379.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 17th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Accenture from $398.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $340.00 to $275.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $351.82.

About Accenture

Accenture plc, a professional services company, provides strategy and consulting, industry X, song, and technology and operation services worldwide. The company offers application services, including agile transformation, DevOps, application modernization, enterprise architecture, software and quality engineering, data management; intelligent automation comprising robotic process automation, natural language processing, and virtual agents; and application management services, as well as software engineering services; strategy and consulting services; data and analytics strategy, data discovery and augmentation, data management and beyond, data democratization, and industrialized solutions comprising turnkey analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions; metaverse; and sustainability services.