Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Trims Stock Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. reduced its stake in Accenture by 27.3% in Q4, selling 7,808 shares and ending the quarter with 20,791 shares valued at about $5.578 million.
• Company insiders have been net sellers — CEO Julie Sweet sold 6,057 shares and CAO Melissa Burgum sold 3,588, and insiders disposed of 20,756 shares (≈$5.6M) in the last 90 days, leaving insiders with just 0.02% ownership.
• Accenture beat quarterly expectations with $2.93 EPS (vs. $2.84) and $18.04B revenue (+7.8% YoY), and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.63 (3.3% yield; ex-dividend April 9, payable May 15).

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. cut its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 27.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,791 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 7,808 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Accenture were worth $5,578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ACN. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Investors Research Corp raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 73.8% in the 3rd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 106 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 132.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Davis Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total value of $1,461,130.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. This represents a 28.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total transaction of $1,008,263.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 8,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,298,380.79. The trade was a 30.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,756 shares of company stock worth $5,604,134. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Accenture Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE ACN opened at $198.93 on Tuesday. 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 $187.00 and a 52 week high of $325.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $132.37 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $215.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $242.91.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 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 company had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Accenture's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ACN shares. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Accenture has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $274.88.

Accenture 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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