Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 213,211 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,046 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $57,205,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Accenture in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Accenture by 96.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. raised its holdings in Accenture by 107.5% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 110 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $187.32 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.09. Accenture PLC has a 1-year low of $155.82 and a 1-year high of $321.77. The company’s fifty day moving average is $185.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $226.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior 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 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 issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on ACN shares. HSBC cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Accenture presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.