Mcrae Capital Management Inc. Raises Stake in Accenture PLC $ACN

Mcrae Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 47,367 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,822 shares during the quarter. Accenture accounts for approximately 2.6% of Mcrae Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Mcrae Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $12,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ACN. Weitz Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 28.8% during the 3rd quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,550 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $39,592,000 after acquiring an additional 35,900 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 282,340 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $75,752,000 after acquiring an additional 61,314 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake 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 worth $99,794,000 after acquiring an additional 260,357 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 93,880 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 557,516 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $149,582,000 after acquiring an additional 149,357 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ACN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Accenture from $210.00 to $199.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 target price on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Guggenheim cut their target price on Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $266.58.

Accenture Stock Down 4.3%

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $178.14 on Thursday. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $155.82 and a 52 week high of $321.77. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $225.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $118.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The firm had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.40%.

Accenture Company 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.