Tortoise Investment Management LLC Increases Position in Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN)

Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN – Get Rating) by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,189 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 77 shares during the quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $306,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CI Investments Inc. grew its stake in Accenture by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 59,876 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $16,625,000 after purchasing an additional 2,087 shares during the last quarter. Dubuque Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dubuque Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,233 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,764 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,323,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 597,757 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $165,967,000 after buying an additional 24,630 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 137,101 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $35,276,000 after buying an additional 6,926 shares during the period. 73.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Trading Down 1.6 %

ACN stock opened at $274.87 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $280.34 and a 200-day moving average of $282.13. Accenture plc has a 12-month low of $242.95 and a 12-month high of $360.10. The company has a market cap of $173.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.97, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.23.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 16th. The information technology services provider reported $3.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.17. Accenture had a return on equity of 31.49% and a net margin of 11.31%. The firm had revenue of $15.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Accenture plc will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 11th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 1,027 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.99, for a total value of $288,576.73. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,222,112.33. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Accenture news, insider James O. Etheredge sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.11, for a total value of $1,430,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,985,512.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 1,027 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.99, for a total transaction of $288,576.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,222,112.33. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,215 shares of company stock worth $15,562,837 in the last quarter. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACN has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Accenture from $310.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Accenture from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 12th. Piper Sandler cut Accenture from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $268.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, December 12th. Cowen raised their price objective on Accenture from $295.00 to $300.00 in a report on Monday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Accenture from $306.00 to $327.00 in a report on Thursday, December 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.78.

About Accenture

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Accenture Plc engages in the provision of management consulting, technology, and outsourcing services. It operates through the following geographical segments: North America, Europe and Growth Markets. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.