Boston Trust Walden Corp Decreases Stake in Accenture PLC $ACN

Boston Trust Walden Corp reduced its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 420,875 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 37,783 shares during the period. Accenture comprises 0.9% of Boston Trust Walden Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned 0.07% of Accenture worth $112,921,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Accenture by 132.6% in the 3rd 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 position in Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Accenture in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Davis Capital Management purchased a new position in Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake 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. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE ACN opened at $194.54 on Wednesday. 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 PLC has a twelve month low of $177.50 and a twelve month high of $325.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.24. The stock's 50 day moving average is $202.42 and its 200 day moving average is $239.12.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The company had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Accenture's payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In related news, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.38, for a total transaction of $1,101,650.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,221 shares in the company, valued at $7,523,339.98. The trade was a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total value 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. This represents a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 15,331 shares of company stock valued at $4,048,871 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ACN shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Berenberg Bank started coverage on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $313.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim reduced their target price on Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $274.50.

About Accenture

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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