GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd Reduces Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• GUARDCAP Asset Management cut its Accenture stake by 15.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 110,980 shares and leaving it with 605,644 shares worth about $162.6 million.
• Accenture reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.93 versus estimates of $2.84 and revenue of $18.04 billion, with revenue up 7.8% year over year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with an average price target of $274.50.

GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 15.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 605,644 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 110,980 shares during the period. Accenture makes up approximately 4.3% of GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd owned 0.10% of Accenture worth $162,571,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Running Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in Accenture by 14.3% in the third quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 57,541 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $14,190,000 after buying an additional 7,190 shares during the last quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Accenture by 28.8% in the third quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,550 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $39,592,000 after buying an additional 35,900 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in Accenture by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 282,340 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $75,752,000 after buying an additional 61,314 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in Accenture by 180.4% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 404,680 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $99,794,000 after buying an additional 260,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Accenture by 197.2% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 141,484 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $37,960,000 after buying an additional 93,880 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Accenture Trading Up 5.0%

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $187.32 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $124.65 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50 day moving average of $185.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $226.50. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $155.82 and a 12-month high of $321.77.

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

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. Accenture's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price target on Accenture in a report on Thursday, March 5th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently 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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