Strs Ohio Sells 43,913 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Strs Ohio cut its stake in Accenture by 23.6%, selling 43,913 shares and finishing the quarter with 141,857 shares valued at about $38.06 million.
• Accenture topped estimates with $2.93 EPS (vs. $2.84 consensus) and $18.04 billion in revenue (up 7.8% YoY), and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share (annualized $6.52, ~3.6% yield).
• Company insiders sold roughly 10,943 shares (~$2.33 million) over the last quarter—including CEO Atsushi Egawa and Julie Spellman Sweet—leaving insiders with about 0.02% ownership.

Strs Ohio cut its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 23.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 141,857 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 43,913 shares during the period. Strs Ohio's holdings in Accenture were worth $38,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Davis Capital Management purchased a new stake in Accenture in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in Accenture by 96.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Accenture Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of ACN opened at $179.96 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $196.46 and its 200 day moving average is $235.84. 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 $173.65 and a 12-month high of $325.71. The company has a market capitalization of $119.75 billion, a PE ratio of 14.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.09.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.82 EPS. Research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture's payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ACN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 6th. HSBC reduced their price objective on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $274.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of Accenture 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. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 10,943 shares of company stock worth $2,327,545. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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