Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Purchases 93,880 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Sequoia Financial Advisors increased its stake in Accenture by 197.2%, buying 93,880 shares to hold 141,484 shares valued at $37.96 million at the end of the quarter.
• Accenture beat quarterly expectations (EPS $2.93 vs. $2.84 est.; revenue $18.04B vs. $17.8B) and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.63 (annualized $6.52) with a yield of 3.7% (ex-dividend Apr 9, payable May 15).
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $274.50 (17 Buys, 10 Holds), despite the stock trading near the low end of its 52-week range.

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 197.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 141,484 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after buying an additional 93,880 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Accenture were worth $37,960,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ACN. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Accenture in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in Accenture by 96.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. raised its stake in Accenture by 107.5% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 110 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ACN. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $313.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $274.50.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of ACN stock opened at $174.63 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $195.21 and a 200-day moving average of $234.94. The company has a market cap of $116.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 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 PLC has a 52 week low of $173.52 and a 52 week high of $325.71.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last released its 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. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The company had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.82 EPS. Accenture's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture's dividend payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Insider Activity

In other Accenture news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total transaction of $1,461,130.11. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. The trade was a 28.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ACN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.