Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. Takes Position in Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN)

Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 617 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BTS Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Accenture in the third quarter valued at about $286,000. Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC increased its holdings in Accenture by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC now owns 24,001 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $8,484,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. raised its position in Accenture by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 1,924 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $680,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Accenture by 42.3% in the 3rd quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $606,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the period. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Accenture by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 8,500 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $3,005,000 after buying an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $364.20 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $348.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $322.52. The firm has a market cap of $228.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.25. Accenture plc has a fifty-two week low of $278.69 and a fifty-two week high of $387.51.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The information technology services provider reported $2.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $16.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 11.20% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.71 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Accenture plc will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $1.48 dividend. This is an increase from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.21%.

Accenture declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, September 26th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Accenture from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Accenture from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Accenture from $376.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $329.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Accenture from $350.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $371.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 4,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.97, for a total value of $1,757,357.50. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 22,976 shares in the company, valued at $8,500,430.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Kathleen R. Mcclure sold 5,090 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $373.22, for a total value of $1,899,689.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 38,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,490,266.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 4,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.97, for a total value of $1,757,357.50. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 22,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,500,430.72. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,971 shares of company stock valued at $9,330,113. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Company Profile

Accenture plc, a professional services company, provides strategy and consulting, industry X, song, and technology and operation services worldwide. The company offers application services, including agile transformation, DevOps, application modernization, enterprise architecture, software and quality engineering, data management; intelligent automation comprising robotic process automation, natural language processing, and virtual agents; and application management services, as well as software engineering services; strategy and consulting services; data and analytics strategy, data discovery and augmentation, data management and beyond, data democratization, and industrialized solutions comprising turnkey analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions; metaverse; and sustainability services.