Argent Capital Management LLC Sells 1,792 Shares of Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN)

Argent Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,769 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 1,792 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $29,257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in Accenture by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 172,199 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $52,247,000 after purchasing an additional 27,168 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its stake in Accenture by 11.9% during the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 36,750 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $12,393,000 after acquiring an additional 3,900 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Accenture by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 183,446 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $63,584,000 after acquiring an additional 21,516 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 1st quarter worth approximately $19,007,000. Finally, First Long Island Investors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 27.8% during the 1st quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC now owns 65,717 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $22,778,000 after purchasing an additional 14,283 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ACN traded down $6.34 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $364.29. The stock had a trading volume of 806,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,717,974. Accenture plc has a fifty-two week low of $278.69 and a fifty-two week high of $387.51. The firm has a market cap of $228.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $348.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $322.52.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The information technology services provider reported $2.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.01. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 11.20%. The firm had revenue of $16.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.71 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Accenture plc will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 26th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $1.48 per share. This is a boost from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Accenture’s payout ratio is presently 54.21%.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In related news, insider Angela Beatty sold 673 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $372.18, for a total value of $250,477.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,102,817. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, COO John F. Walsh sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $373.24, for a total value of $1,866,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 17,593 shares in the company, valued at $6,566,411.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Angela Beatty sold 673 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $372.18, for a total value of $250,477.14. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,650 shares in the company, valued at $2,102,817. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,221 shares of company stock worth $7,572,755 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACN has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho raised their target price on Accenture from $352.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Accenture from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $382.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Accenture from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $329.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Accenture from $350.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Accenture from $400.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $371.18.

Accenture Profile

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.