Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by Savant Capital LLC

Key Points

• Savant Capital LLC cut its Accenture stake by 51.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 43,351 shares and leaving it with 40,909 shares valued at about $11.0 million.
• Accenture remains well supported by Wall Street, with 17 Buy ratings and 10 Hold ratings, giving it a consensus “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.50.
• The company also reported solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, while its board paid a $1.63 quarterly dividend that equates to a 3.5% yield.

Savant Capital LLC decreased its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 51.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,909 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 43,351 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC's holdings in Accenture were worth $10,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Accenture in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Accenture in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Accenture by 96.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Steph & Co. raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on ACN shares. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, HSBC reduced their target price on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Accenture has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $274.50.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Accenture Price Performance

NYSE:ACN opened at $187.32 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $155.82 and a one year high of $321.77. 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 stock has a market cap of $124.65 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $185.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $226.50.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. Accenture's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.40%.

Accenture 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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