Provident Trust Co. Sells 65,236 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Provident Trust Co. sold 65,236 shares of Accenture in Q4 (a 4.1% cut), leaving it with 1,534,861 shares — about 0.25% of Accenture and roughly $411.8 million in value, making ACN ~6.9% of Provident’s portfolio (its 7th largest holding).
• Accenture beat quarterly estimates, reporting $2.93 EPS vs. $2.84 expected and $18.04 billion in revenue vs. $17.80 billion, with revenue up 7.8% year-over-year.
• Accenture declared a $1.63 quarterly dividend (annualized $6.52) with a yield of 3.6%; the ex-dividend date is April 9 and the payment date is May 15.

Provident Trust Co. lowered its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,534,861 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 65,236 shares during the period. Accenture makes up approximately 6.9% of Provident Trust Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Provident Trust Co. owned about 0.25% of Accenture worth $411,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Carbahal Olsen Financial Services Group LLC purchased a new position in Accenture in the fourth quarter worth $216,000. Greenfield Savings Bank raised its position in Accenture by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank now owns 2,035 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional raised its position in Accenture by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 28,948 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $7,767,000 after acquiring an additional 6,517 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in Accenture by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 205,900 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $55,261,000 after acquiring an additional 6,868 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forza Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Accenture by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,553 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $953,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Accenture Stock Up 0.7%

ACN opened at $179.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $119.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.74, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.09. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $173.65 and a 52 week high of $325.71. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $196.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $235.84.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business 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%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.40%.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

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 value of $863,026.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total value of $1,461,130.11. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. The trade was a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 10,943 shares of company stock worth $2,327,545. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on ACN. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Accenture from $266.00 to $215.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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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