Ethic Inc. Buys 9,225 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its Accenture stake by 20.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 9,225 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 54,825 shares worth about $14.7 million.
• Accenture reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.93 on revenue of $18.04 billion, and revenue rose 7.8% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share to be paid May 15, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus despite several price-target cuts.

Ethic Inc. grew its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 20.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,825 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,225 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Accenture were worth $14,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ACN. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Accenture by 36.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 4,905 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in 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 worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. United Bank raised its holdings in Accenture by 49.8% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in Accenture by 23.0% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 828 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the firm'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 value of $863,026.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 Accenture 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. This trade represents a 28.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Accenture Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:ACN opened at $180.41 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $120.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78, 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. The company's 50 day moving average price is $194.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $234.53. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $172.52 and a 52 week high of $325.71.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ACN. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $266.00 to $215.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, HSBC cut their price target on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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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