Northeast Investment Management Lowers Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Northeast Investment Management cut its Accenture stake by 47% in the fourth quarter, selling 23,596 shares and leaving it with 26,608 shares valued at about $7.14 million.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted positions in Accenture, while 75.14% of the stock remains owned by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Analysts remain generally positive despite lower price targets: Accenture has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $274.50, and the company recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates.

Northeast Investment Management trimmed its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 47.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 26,608 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 23,596 shares during the period. Northeast Investment Management's holdings in Accenture were worth $7,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Accenture by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 4,905 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Accenture by 46.9% during 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 in the last quarter. United Bank lifted its stake in Accenture by 49.8% during 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 stake 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 worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Accenture by 4.2% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on ACN shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Berenberg Bank started coverage on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $313.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $274.50.

Insider Activity

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares of the company's stock, 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 this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Accenture Stock Performance

NYSE:ACN opened at $169.90 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.06 billion, a PE ratio of 13.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.08. The business's fifty day moving average price is $193.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $232.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $169.76 and a 12 month high of $325.71.

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

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Accenture's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.40%.

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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