Andra AP fonden Has $36.65 Million Stock Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Andra AP fonden cut its Accenture stake by 28.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 53,269 shares and leaving it with 136,608 shares valued at about $36.65 million.
• Accenture reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.93 versus the $2.84 estimate and revenue of $18.04 billion, which topped expectations and rose 7.8% year over year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share and has drawn mixed analyst sentiment, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $259.89, even as several firms lowered their targets.

Andra AP fonden trimmed its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 28.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 136,608 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 53,269 shares during the quarter. Andra AP fonden's holdings in Accenture were worth $36,652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 36.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $6,486,000 after acquiring an additional 4,905 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 46.9% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $618,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. United Bank raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 49.8% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,088,000 after acquiring an additional 1,209 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 23.0% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 828 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 4.2% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Accenture Stock Down 1.6%

NYSE:ACN opened at $167.69 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $182.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $222.20. The company has a market cap of $111.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.08. Accenture PLC has a 52-week low of $155.82 and a 52-week high of $318.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $17.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Accenture's payout ratio is 53.40%.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $275.00 to $248.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $247.00 to $201.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $259.89.

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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