Oak Thistle LLC Takes Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Oak Thistle LLC opened a new position in Accenture, buying 8,510 shares valued at about $2.283 million in Q4, and several other institutions boosted holdings as institutional ownership stands at 75.14%.
• Accenture beat quarterly estimates (EPS $2.93 vs. $2.84; revenue $18.04B vs. $17.80B, +7.8% YoY) and announced a $1.63 quarterly dividend (annualized $6.52, ~3.3% yield; ex-dividend April 9).
• Wall Street consensus is a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $274.88, though some firms (RBC, Morgan Stanley) recently trimmed their targets.

Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,510 shares of the information technology services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,283,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ACN. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 36.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $6,486,000 after buying an additional 4,905 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $618,000 after buying an additional 660 shares during the period. United Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 49.8% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,088,000 after buying an additional 1,209 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 14.0% in the second quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 4,184 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,250,000 after buying an additional 515 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. Berenberg Bank assumed coverage on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $313.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $282.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $274.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.38, for a total value of $1,101,650.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,221 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,523,339.98. This represents a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Catherine Kiernan Hogan sold 660 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.93, for a total transaction of $185,413.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,688 shares in the company, valued at $3,564,439.84. The trade was a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,256 shares of company stock valued at $5,464,134. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Accenture Stock Performance

NYSE ACN opened at $197.36 on Wednesday. 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 firm's fifty day moving average price is $214.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $242.61. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $187.00 and a 1 year high of $325.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.24.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The firm had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture's dividend payout ratio is 53.40%.

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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