Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Raises Stock Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 94,230 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,646 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $25,282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ACN. Capital International Investors lifted its position in 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 worth $4,223,839,000 after acquiring an additional 4,984,930 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the third quarter valued at approximately $311,694,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 12.8% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,147,796 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,502,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148,970 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Accenture in the third quarter valued at $268,578,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in 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 worth $503,544,000 after buying an additional 943,371 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $180.41 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $120.05 billion, a PE ratio of 14.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $172.52 and a fifty-two week high of $325.71. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $194.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $234.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. The company 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%.Accenture’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 3.6%. Accenture’s payout ratio is 53.40%.

Insider Activity

In other Accenture news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. This represents a 28.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ACN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Berenberg Bank started coverage on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $313.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho reduced their price target on Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Accenture from $266.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.