iA Global Asset Management Inc. Grows Position in Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) by 23.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 332,136 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 62,351 shares during the quarter. Accenture comprises about 1.1% of iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $100,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ACN. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Accenture during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Accenture by 507.7% during the 1st quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 79 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. lifted its position in Accenture by 214.8% in the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 85 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Accenture stock traded up $1.63 during trading on Friday, hitting $341.84. 2,004,018 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,810,327. The stock has a market capitalization of $214.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $319.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $325.69. Accenture plc has a fifty-two week low of $278.69 and a fifty-two week high of $387.51.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The information technology services provider reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by ($0.02). Accenture had a net margin of 10.79% and a return on equity of 27.48%. The business had revenue of $16.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.19 EPS. Accenture’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Accenture plc will post 11.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were paid a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 11th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kathleen R. Mcclure sold 1,500 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $472,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,149,550. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Kathleen R. Mcclure sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $472,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,149,550. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ellyn Shook sold 5,000 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.82, for a total transaction of $1,649,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,964,751.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,421 shares of company stock valued at $6,912,635 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ACN. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Accenture from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Accenture from $419.00 to $365.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Accenture from $294.00 to $293.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Piper Sandler Companies dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $379.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Accenture from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $352.33.

About Accenture

Accenture plc, a professional services company, provides strategy and consulting, industry X, song, and technology and operation services worldwide. The company offers application services, including agile transformation, DevOps, application modernization, enterprise architecture, software and quality engineering, data management; intelligent automation comprising robotic process automation, natural language processing, and virtual agents; and application management services, as well as software engineering services; strategy and consulting services; data and analytics strategy, data discovery and augmentation, data management and beyond, data democratization, and industrialized solutions comprising turnkey analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions; metaverse; and sustainability services.