SVB Wealth LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• SVB Wealth LLC cut its Accenture stake by 25.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 9,900 shares and ending with 28,755 shares valued at about $7.7 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 declared a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share, implying an annualized yield of 3.6%, while analysts currently hold a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $274.50.

SVB Wealth LLC lowered its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 25.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,755 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 9,900 shares during the quarter. SVB Wealth LLC's holdings in Accenture were worth $7,715,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,070,930 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $17,726,831,000 after purchasing an additional 854,361 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,135,065 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $6,938,156,000 after acquiring an additional 118,460 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 41.1% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,693,994 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $2,869,199,000 after acquiring an additional 546,198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 9,615,366 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $2,371,149,000 after acquiring an additional 790,580 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Accenture Stock Down 0.0%

ACN stock opened at $180.41 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $120.05 billion, a PE ratio of 14.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08. 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's fifty day moving average is $194.89 and its 200 day moving average is $234.53. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $172.52 and a one year high of $325.71.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The firm's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.82 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

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 given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Accenture's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on ACN shares. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. TD Cowen cut their price target 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $274.50.

Insider Activity

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

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