AE Wealth Management LLC Has $28.04 Million Stake in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• AE Wealth Management boosted its stake in Accenture by 1,324.9% in Q4, adding 97,180 shares to hold 104,515 shares valued at about $28.04 million.
• Accenture beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $2.93 versus $2.84 estimated and revenue of $18.04 billion (up 7.8% year-over-year), while analysts project full-year EPS of about $12.73.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.63 (annualized $6.52, ~3.4% yield; ex-dividend April 9, payable May 15), and insiders sold roughly 15,331 shares (~$4.05M) over the past 90 days.

AE Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 1,324.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 104,515 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 97,180 shares during the quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Accenture were worth $28,041,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Marion Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Marion Wealth Management now owns 14,706 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $4,133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares during the period. Argo Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Accenture in the fourth quarter worth about $2,182,000. Wright Investors Service Inc. lifted its stake in Accenture by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 8,676 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $2,328,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Accenture by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 123,821 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $33,221,000 after purchasing an additional 30,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Accenture Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $194.02 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $177.50 and a 12-month high of $325.71. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $205.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $240.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $129.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.24.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.82 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Accenture's payout ratio is presently 53.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACN has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Accenture from $266.00 to $215.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Berenberg Bank started coverage on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $313.00 target price for the company. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $274.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In related news, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 27,221 shares in the company, valued at $7,523,339.98. This trade represents a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,679,963.65. This represents a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 15,331 shares of company stock valued at $4,048,871 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

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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