Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by Crestwood Advisors Group LLC

Key Points

• Crestwood Advisors trimmed its stake in Accenture by 20% in Q4, selling 35,469 shares and leaving 141,481 shares valued at about $37.96 million.
• Company insiders sold material positions: Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares for roughly $1.46 million (a 28.4% reduction) and Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares for about $863,000 (a 27.6% reduction), with Egawa's sale executed under a Rule 10b5‑1 plan.
• Accenture beat quarterly estimates with $2.93 EPS vs. $2.84 and revenue of $18.04 billion (+7.8% YoY), and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.63 (annualized $6.52, yield ~3.6%).

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 20.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 141,481 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 35,469 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC's holdings in Accenture were worth $37,960,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 96.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Steph & Co. boosted its stake in Accenture by 107.5% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 110 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value of $1,461,130.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at $3,679,963.65. This trade represents a 28.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACN has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Accenture from $317.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $274.50.

Accenture Trading Up 3.3%

NYSE:ACN opened at $180.39 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Accenture PLC has a 1-year low of $173.52 and a 1-year high of $325.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $234.53.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.82 EPS. Accenture's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Accenture's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.40%.

About Accenture

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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