Provident Investment Management Inc. Invests $3.59 Million in Accenture PLC $ACN

Provident Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 13,383 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,591,000. Accenture accounts for approximately 0.3% of Provident Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Accenture during the third quarter worth $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in Accenture in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Accenture during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 96.4% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Down 4.4%

Shares of ACN opened at $172.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $193.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.12, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08. 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 PLC has a one year low of $172.22 and a one year high of $325.71.

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

Accenture Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on ACN shares. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. HSBC lowered their price objective on shares of Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped 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. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.