Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) Stock Holdings Decreased by Verity & Verity LLC

Verity & Verity LLC reduced its position in Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN – Get Rating) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,036 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 267 shares during the quarter. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $1,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Accenture by 1.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,473,666 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $15,045,274,000 after acquiring an additional 816,734 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of Accenture by 0.7% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 46,363,742 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $11,929,391,000 after acquiring an additional 319,707 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Accenture by 2.7% in the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,366,391 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,266,478,000 after acquiring an additional 409,980 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Accenture by 33.6% during the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,858,899 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,459,673,000 after purchasing an additional 2,228,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Accenture by 5.1% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,296,119 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,877,293,000 after purchasing an additional 354,513 shares in the last quarter. 73.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Accenture from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $268.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Accenture from $306.00 to $327.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Accenture from $290.00 to $279.00 in a research report on Monday, December 19th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Accenture in a research note on Monday, January 30th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $289.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $316.50.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $250.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.56 billion, a PE ratio of 22.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $273.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $275.04. Accenture plc has a 52-week low of $242.80 and a 52-week high of $345.30.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 16th. The information technology services provider reported $3.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.17. Accenture had a net margin of 11.31% and a return on equity of 31.49%. The firm had revenue of $15.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. Analysts predict that Accenture plc will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 556 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.53, for a total value of $155,974.68. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 42,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,060,265.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 556 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.53, for a total value of $155,974.68. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 42,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,060,265.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paula A. Price sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.77, for a total transaction of $194,077.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,732,982.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,015 shares of company stock valued at $10,884,179. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Accenture Company Profile

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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.