Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by Truist Financial Corp

Key Points

• Truist Financial reduced its stake in Accenture by 10.7% in Q4, selling 41,122 shares and leaving it with 342,285 shares valued at about $91.8 million.
• Accenture topped estimates for the quarter with EPS $2.93 versus $2.84 and revenue of $18.04 billion, a 7.8% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share (annualized $6.52, ~3.6% yield; ex-dividend April 9, payable May 15), while insiders sold 10,943 shares (~$2.33 million) in the past 90 days, including recent CEO sales under a Rule 10b5-1 plan.

Truist Financial Corp decreased its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 342,285 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 41,122 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp owned approximately 0.06% of Accenture worth $91,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Accenture in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in Accenture by 96.4% in 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 buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. lifted its position in Accenture by 107.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of ACN opened at $180.24 on Tuesday. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $173.65 and a fifty-two week high of $325.71. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $196.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $235.78. The company has a market cap of $119.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.76, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08. 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 (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The firm had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at $3,679,963.65. The trade was a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 10,943 shares of company stock worth $2,327,545 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Accenture from $317.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Berenberg Bank assumed coverage on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $313.00 target price on the stock. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $274.50.

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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