Dash Acquisitions Inc. Raises Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Dash Acquisitions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 25.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,438 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,728 shares during the quarter. Accenture makes up about 2.5% of Dash Acquisitions Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Dash Acquisitions Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $12,996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Accenture by 96.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Steph & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 107.5% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 110 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Trading Up 2.7%

NYSE:ACN opened at $164.01 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $191.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $155.82 and a 12 month high of $324.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.08.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on ACN shares. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Accenture from $317.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. HSBC dropped their price objective on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 6th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Accenture 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.