Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by KBC Group NV

Key Points

• KBC Group NV trimmed its stake in Accenture by 22.7% in Q4, selling 70,186 shares and leaving it with 239,434 shares worth about $64.24 million.
• Accenture beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $2.93 (vs. $2.84) and revenue of $18.04 billion (+7.8% YoY), and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.63 (annualized $6.52) for a ~3.4% yield.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive with 17 Buys and 10 Holds, an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $274.50.

KBC Group NV trimmed its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 22.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 239,434 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 70,186 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in Accenture were worth $64,241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Running Oak Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Accenture by 14.3% in the third quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 57,541 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $14,190,000 after purchasing an additional 7,190 shares in the last quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 28.8% in the third quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,550 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $39,592,000 after acquiring an additional 35,900 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 17.4% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 258,599 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $63,771,000 after acquiring an additional 38,325 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 180.4% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 404,680 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $99,794,000 after acquiring an additional 260,357 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 25.5% in the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 22,401 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $5,524,000 after acquiring an additional 4,552 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, December 18th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. HSBC decreased their price objective on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on Accenture from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Accenture from $317.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $274.50.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $194.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $205.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $240.24. Accenture PLC has a 1-year low of $177.50 and a 1-year high of $325.71. The company has a market cap of $129.11 billion, a PE ratio of 15.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.24.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Accenture's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.40%.

Insider Activity

In other Accenture news, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.38, for a total value of $1,101,650.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 27,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,523,339.98. This represents a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,026 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.70, for a total value of $289,024.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 27,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,656,887.70. The trade was a 3.64% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 15,331 shares of company stock valued at $4,048,871. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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