Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Increases Stake in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Accenture (NYSE:ACN) by 77% in Q4, adding 18,464 shares to hold 42,436 shares valued at about $11.39 million.
• Accenture beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $2.93 (vs. $2.84 est.) and revenue of $18.04 billion (+7.8% YoY), and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.63 ($6.52 annual, ~3.7% yield) payable May 15 (ex-dividend April 9).
• Company insiders have sold 10,057 shares (~$2.57M) in the past 90 days, while analysts hold a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $274.50.

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 77.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,436 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after buying an additional 18,464 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Accenture were worth $11,386,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Accenture by 132.6% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Accenture in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 96.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Accenture Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $178.61 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $118.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.24. The company's 50 day moving average is $199.82 and its 200 day moving average is $237.67. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $173.84 and a twelve month high of $325.71. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors 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 yield of 3.7%. Accenture's dividend payout ratio is 53.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Accenture news, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.38, for a total value of $1,101,650.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,057 shares of company stock worth $2,566,169. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ACN. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Argus lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $370.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 6th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $274.50.

Accenture Company 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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