Saratoga Research & Investment Management Sells 10,584 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Saratoga Research & Investment Management cut its Accenture stake by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 10,584 shares and leaving it with 135,584 shares valued at about $36.4 million.
• Accenture reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.93 versus estimates of $2.84 and revenue of $18.04 billion, up 7.8% year over year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share, implying an annualized yield of 3.9%, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $274.50.

Saratoga Research & Investment Management reduced its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 135,584 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 10,584 shares during the quarter. Accenture comprises about 1.9% of Saratoga Research & Investment Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Saratoga Research & Investment Management's holdings in Accenture were worth $36,377,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Accenture by 41.1% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,128,134 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $4,223,839,000 after acquiring an additional 4,984,930 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Accenture during the third quarter valued at approximately $311,694,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 12.8% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,147,796 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $2,502,446,000 after buying an additional 1,148,970 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new position in shares of Accenture during the third quarter valued at approximately $268,578,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 85.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,041,945 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $503,544,000 after buying an additional 943,371 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Accenture Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $168.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.84, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $190.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $231.32. Accenture PLC has a 52-week low of $155.82 and a 52-week high of $322.86.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $18.04 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Accenture's dividend payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on ACN. Citigroup cut their target price on Accenture from $266.00 to $215.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. HSBC cut their target price on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $274.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,746.28. This represents 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 at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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