Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN – Get Rating) by 3.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 191,192 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,775 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Accenture were worth $49,418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ACN. United Bank raised its position in shares of Accenture by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 2,969 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 89,400 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $30,148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,168 shares during the last quarter. Fund Management at Engine No. 1 LLC bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,805,000. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 7,292 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $2,459,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 104.8% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 441,451 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $148,871,000 after acquiring an additional 225,943 shares during the last quarter. 73.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Accenture from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Accenture from $306.00 to $327.00 in a report on Thursday, December 15th. Piper Sandler downgraded Accenture from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $268.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, December 12th. Cowen upped their price objective on Accenture from $295.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Monday, December 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Accenture from $290.00 to $279.00 in a research note on Monday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $326.78.

Insider Activity

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of Accenture stock traded up $3.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $277.27. The stock had a trading volume of 2,101,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,907,468. The firm has a market cap of $174.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.18, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a fifty day moving average of $279.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $282.02. Accenture plc has a fifty-two week low of $242.95 and a fifty-two week high of $360.10.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Friday, December 16th. The information technology services provider reported $3.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.17. Accenture had a return on equity of 31.49% and a net margin of 11.31%. The business had revenue of $15.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Accenture plc will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 11th. Accenture's dividend payout ratio is 40.69%.

Accenture Profile

(Get Rating)

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.

Featured Stories

• Get a free copy of the StockNews.com research report on Accenture (ACN)
• MarketBeat Week in Review – 1/23- 1/27
• Why Lucid Spiked Nearly 100% In One Day
• Ride These Railroad Stocks for Growth and Income
• ASML Sees Demand For Chips Rallying This Year, Boosts Sales View
• KLA Corporation: Strength In A Troubled Semi-Market

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ACN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN – Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for Accenture Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Accenture and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.