KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires 2,700 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 251,906 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Accenture were worth $67,586,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ACN. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 36.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $6,486,000 after acquiring an additional 4,905 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 46.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $618,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the period. United Bank grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 49.8% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,088,000 after acquiring an additional 1,209 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 23.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 828 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Accenture from $266.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 6th. HSBC dropped their price target on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price target on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Accenture currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.50.

Accenture Stock Performance

ACN stock opened at $194.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.24. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $177.50 and a 12-month high of $325.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $202.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.12.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors 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 3.4%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is 53.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value of $1,461,130.11. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. This represents a 28.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.38, for a total value of $1,101,650.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,221 shares in the company, valued at $7,523,339.98. This trade represents a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 15,331 shares of company stock worth $4,048,871 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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.