Cullinan Associates Inc. Acquires 10,212 Shares of Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN)

Cullinan Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN – Get Rating) by 33.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 40,308 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,212 shares during the quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $10,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CI Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Accenture by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 59,876 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $16,625,000 after acquiring an additional 2,087 shares during the period. Dubuque Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Accenture by 10.9% in the third quarter. Dubuque Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,233 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Accenture by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 2,866 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp grew its holdings in Accenture by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 4,480 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Korea Investment CORP increased its position in Accenture by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 597,757 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $165,967,000 after buying an additional 24,630 shares during the period. 73.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 556 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.53, for a total value of $155,974.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 42,991 shares in the company, valued at $12,060,265.23. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 556 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.53, for a total transaction of $155,974.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 42,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,060,265.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider James O. Etheredge sold 1,790 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.75, for a total transaction of $464,952.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,448,738.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,015 shares of company stock worth $10,884,179 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research report on Monday, March 13th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $310.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 19th. Citigroup cut their price target on Accenture from $305.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Accenture from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Accenture in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $316.50.

Accenture Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $250.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.56 billion, a PE ratio of 22.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $273.70 and its 200 day moving average is $275.04. Accenture plc has a 1 year low of $242.80 and a 1 year high of $345.30.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Friday, December 16th. The information technology services provider reported $3.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.17. Accenture had a net margin of 11.31% and a return on equity of 31.49%. The firm had revenue of $15.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.58 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Accenture plc will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Company Profile

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Accenture Plc engages in the provision of management consulting, technology, and outsourcing services. It operates through the following geographical segments: North America, Europe and Growth Markets. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.