Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Purchased by Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 190,432 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,500 shares during the quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Accenture were worth $51,093,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Accenture by 41.1% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 4,984,930 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the third quarter worth about $311,694,000. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture during the third quarter worth about $268,578,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 1,307,722 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $350,862,000 after purchasing an additional 969,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 85.9% in 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 during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:ACN opened at $178.33 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $155.82 and a 12-month high of $321.77. 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 $185.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $226.77. The firm has a market cap of $118.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.60, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.08.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Guggenheim cut their price target on Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research 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 stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. 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 report on Monday, March 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.