Accenture PLC $ACN is Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s 8th Largest Position

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. boosted its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 17.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 684,857 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 100,577 shares during the quarter. Accenture makes up about 3.3% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. owned approximately 0.11% of Accenture worth $183,747,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,128,134 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,223,839,000 after purchasing an additional 4,984,930 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at $311,694,000. Capital World Investors bought a new position in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at $268,578,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 85.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,041,945 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $503,544,000 after purchasing an additional 943,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 268.3% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,252,334 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $308,826,000 after purchasing an additional 912,348 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Performance

NYSE ACN opened at $176.47 on Wednesday. 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 $117.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s fifty day moving average is $188.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.14. Accenture PLC has a 52-week low of $155.82 and a 52-week high of $322.86.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s payout ratio is 53.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. The trade was 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. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ACN shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. HSBC lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Accenture currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.50.

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.