Madison Asset Management LLC Sells 40,188 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Madison Asset Management reduced its Accenture stake by 14.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 40,188 shares and leaving it with 244,254 shares worth about $65.5 million.
• Accenture recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting $2.93 EPS on $18.04 billion in revenue, with revenue up 7.8% year over year.
• Despite some analyst price-target cuts, Wall Street still rates the stock Moderate Buy overall, and Accenture also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share.

Madison Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 244,254 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 40,188 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC's holdings in Accenture were worth $65,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ACN. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Accenture by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 878 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Accenture by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 329 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 0.9% in the third quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. now owns 4,416 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 1.2% in the second quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,751 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IVC Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 927 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ACN. Guggenheim reduced 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. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Berenberg Bank assumed coverage on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $313.00 target price on the stock. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $274.50.

Accenture Stock Down 1.4%

ACN stock opened at $169.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $193.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.98. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $169.76 and a twelve month high of $325.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.06 billion, a PE ratio of 13.91, a PEG ratio of 1.64 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.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. The firm 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture's payout ratio is 53.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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.

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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