Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Acquired by Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V.

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. grew its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 66.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 148,864 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,614 shares during the period. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $39,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ACN. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Accenture during the third quarter worth $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Accenture during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Accenture during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. McMillan Office Inc. acquired a new position in Accenture during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Up 1.4%

ACN opened at $169.95 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $181.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $221.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $113.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.92, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.08. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $155.82 and a one year high of $317.30.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.Accenture’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.82 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ACN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Accenture from $247.00 to $201.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $201.00 target price on Accenture in a research report on Monday. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Accenture has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.89.

About Accenture

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.