Soltis Investment Advisors LLC Has $7.15 Million Stock Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Soltis Investment Advisors increased its Accenture stake by 78.9% in the fourth quarter, ending with 26,660 shares worth about $7.15 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 paid a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share and continues to draw generally positive analyst sentiment, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $274.50.

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 78.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,660 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,754 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Accenture were worth $7,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Accenture by 36.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 4,905 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Accenture by 46.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $618,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. United Bank boosted its holdings in Accenture by 49.8% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in Accenture by 23.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 828 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Accenture by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Accenture Stock Up 3.0%

ACN stock opened at $168.94 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $155.82 and a 12 month high of $322.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $190.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $231.32.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The business'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 business 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Accenture's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on ACN shares. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Accenture from $317.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Accenture presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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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