QRG Capital Management Inc. Grows Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,414 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,498 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $25,600,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of 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 Accenture during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Accenture during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Davis Capital Management purchased a new position in Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Price Performance

ACN stock opened at $180.24 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $119.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50-day moving average is $196.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $235.78. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $173.65 and a 1 year high of $325.71.

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

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.40%.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other 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 transaction of $863,026.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total value of $1,461,130.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,679,963.65. This trade represents a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 10,943 shares of company stock worth $2,327,545 in the last ninety days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on ACN. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Accenture from $266.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on Accenture from $317.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.50.

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.