Maxi Investments CY Ltd Invests $4.64 Million in Accenture PLC $ACN

Maxi Investments CY Ltd bought a new stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 17,300 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,642,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Running Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 14.3% in the third quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 57,541 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $14,190,000 after acquiring an additional 7,190 shares in the last quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Accenture by 28.8% in the third quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,550 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $39,592,000 after purchasing an additional 35,900 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in Accenture by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 282,340 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $75,752,000 after purchasing an additional 61,314 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of Accenture by 180.4% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 404,680 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $99,794,000 after purchasing an additional 260,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 197.2% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 141,484 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $37,960,000 after purchasing an additional 93,880 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Trading Up 3.3%

NYSE:ACN opened at $180.39 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $173.52 and a 1 year high of $325.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $194.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $234.53. 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 company has a market cap of $120.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Accenture Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Accenture news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at $3,679,963.65. This represents a 28.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.50.

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.