Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Acquired by Wealthfront Advisers LLC

Key Points

• Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its stake in Accenture by 29.9% in Q4, buying an additional 14,982 shares to hold 65,007 shares worth about $17.44 million.
• CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares on Feb. 10 for roughly $1.46 million, reducing her position by about 28.42%.
• Accenture beat quarterly estimates (EPS $2.93 vs. $2.84; revenue $18.04B vs. $17.80B), announced a quarterly dividend of $1.63 (annualized $6.52, ~3.7% yield), and holds a consensus analyst rating of Moderate Buy with a $274.50 price target.

Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 29.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,007 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,982 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in Accenture were worth $17,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Accenture by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 878 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Accenture by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 329 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. grew its holdings in Accenture by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. now owns 4,416 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,089,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Accenture by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,751 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,108,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IVC Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Accenture by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 927 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total transaction of $1,461,130.11. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. This represents a 28.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ACN. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 6th. Berenberg Bank started coverage on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $313.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $274.50.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $177.62 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $198.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $236.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $118.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.55, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.24. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $173.84 and a 1 year high of $325.71.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The firm had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.82 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture's dividend payout ratio is 53.40%.

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.

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