MUFG Securities EMEA plc Acquires 13,501 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 113.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 25,423 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,501 shares during the quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s holdings in Accenture were worth $6,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ACN. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,146,995,000. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 41.1% in 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 buying an additional 4,984,930 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at about $311,694,000. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at about $268,578,000. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 969,792 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $187.32 on Monday. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $155.82 and a twelve month high of $321.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $185.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $226.37. The company has a market capitalization of $124.65 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.09. 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 announced its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.82 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th were paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACN has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 target price on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. 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.