Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) insider Julie Spellman Sweet sold 1,974 shares of Accenture PLC stock in a transaction on Friday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.68, for a total transaction of $254,014.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,812,071.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.
Shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) traded up 0.45% during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $130.60. 676,624 shares of the stock were exchanged. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $126.05 and its 200-day moving average is $121.87. The stock has a market cap of $80.71 billion, a PE ratio of 23.13 and a beta of 1.11. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $108.83 and a 12 month high of $130.62.
Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 22nd. The information technology services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.52. Accenture PLC had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 43.96%. The firm had revenue of $8.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post $5.90 EPS for the current year.
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ACN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Accenture PLC by 6.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,379,397 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $5,679,843,000 after buying an additional 2,749,896 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in Accenture PLC by 2,139.5% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 39,462,967 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,730,821,000 after buying an additional 37,700,871 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Accenture PLC by 2.7% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,356,641 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $3,039,762,000 after buying an additional 665,860 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Accenture PLC by 8.8% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,583,126 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,587,385,000 after buying an additional 1,738,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Accenture PLC by 4.7% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,907,609 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,667,243,000 after buying an additional 625,381 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.44% of the company’s stock.
Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BidaskClub cut shares of Accenture PLC from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $132.00 target price on shares of Accenture PLC and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 16th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $138.00 price target (up previously from $132.00) on shares of Accenture PLC in a research report on Wednesday, June 14th. Cowen and Company boosted their price target on shares of Accenture PLC from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Accenture PLC in a research report on Monday, May 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $130.71.
About Accenture PLC
Accenture plc is a professional services company serving clients in various industries and in geographic regions, including North America, Europe and Growth Markets. The Company provides management and technology consulting services. Its segments include Communications, Media and Technology; Financial Services; Health and Public Service; Products, and Resources.
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