Huntington National Bank Sells 26,518 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Huntington National Bank cut its Accenture stake by 17.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 26,518 shares and leaving it with 125,584 shares valued at about $33.7 million.
• Accenture reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting $2.93 EPS on 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, equal to an annualized yield of 3.7%, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $274.50.

Huntington National Bank decreased its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 17.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 125,584 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 26,518 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank's holdings in Accenture were worth $33,694,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ACN. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Accenture in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Accenture in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in Accenture by 96.4% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. boosted its position in Accenture by 107.5% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 110 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $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 Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $176.69 on Thursday. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $155.82 and a one year high of $321.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The business's fifty day moving average price is $186.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $227.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.58 billion, a PE ratio of 14.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.08.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research 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. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. Accenture's payout ratio is presently 53.40%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price objective on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. HSBC cut their price objective on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Accenture 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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