Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Purchases 27,775 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE boosted its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 105.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,020 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,775 shares during the period. Accenture comprises 1.2% of Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Accenture were worth $14,494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Accenture by 96.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Steph & Co. grew its position in Accenture by 107.5% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 110 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ACN. Truist Financial downgraded Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 1st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $260.81.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of ACN opened at $170.76 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $182.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $222.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $155.82 and a twelve month high of $321.77. The company has a market cap of $113.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.08.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The firm had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Accenture’s payout ratio is presently 53.40%.

Accenture Company 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.