J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Raises Stake in Accenture PLC $ACN

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG boosted its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 2,078.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 207,676 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 198,144 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Accenture were worth $55,719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Investors Research Corp increased its holdings in Accenture by 73.8% during the 3rd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 106 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Accenture by 132.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Davis Capital Management bought a new position in Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ACN shares. HSBC raised shares of Accenture from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $220.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Argus decreased their target price on Accenture from $370.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price target on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.88.

Accenture Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $197.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.38 billion, a PE ratio of 16.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.28. 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 PLC has a 52-week low of $187.00 and a 52-week high of $325.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $223.66 and a 200 day moving average of $244.30.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Accenture’s payout ratio is presently 53.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,026 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.70, for a total transaction of $289,024.20. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 27,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,656,887.70. This trade represents a 3.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Catherine Kiernan Hogan sold 660 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.93, for a total transaction of $185,413.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 12,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,564,439.84. The trade was a 4.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 22,088 shares of company stock valued at $5,970,434 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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.