QRG Capital Management Inc. Grows Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,414 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,498 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $25,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ACN. Capital International Investors boosted its position in 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 worth $4,223,839,000 after purchasing an additional 4,984,930 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $311,694,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Accenture by 12.8% in the 3rd 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 acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $268,578,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $503,544,000 after buying an additional 943,371 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ACN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $282.00 target price on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Seventeen 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 stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.50.

Accenture Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE ACN opened at $180.24 on Tuesday. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $173.65 and a one year high of $325.71. The company has a market cap of $119.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $196.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $235.78. 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 (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.82 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total value of $1,461,130.11. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,679,963.65. This trade represents a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 10,943 shares of company stock valued at $2,327,545 over the last ninety days. Corporate 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.