UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Sells 8,838 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp cut its stake in Accenture by 32% in the fourth quarter, selling 8,838 shares and leaving it with 18,749 shares worth about $5.03 million.
• Accenture recently beat earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $2.93 EPS on $18.04 billion in revenue, with revenue up 7.8% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share, implying a 3.6% yield, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy rating with an average price target of $274.50.

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 32.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,749 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 8,838 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp's holdings in Accenture were worth $5,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 96.4% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on ACN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given 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.

Accenture Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $180.41 on Friday. 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 $172.52 and a 52 week high of $325.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $194.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $234.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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 will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.40%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 directly owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at $3,679,963.65. The trade was a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer 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. 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. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

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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