Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Purchased by Manning & Napier Advisors LLC

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 56.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,191 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,329 shares during the quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $2,482,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Accenture by 96.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. increased its position in Accenture by 107.5% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 110 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price target on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $317.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.50.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of ACN opened at $180.41 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $194.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $234.53. The stock has a market cap of $120.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08. 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 one year low of $172.52 and a one year high of $325.71.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $18.04 billion during 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%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is 53.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total transaction of $1,461,130.11. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 15,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,679,963.65. This represents a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.