GFG Capital LLC Sells 2,713 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

GFG Capital LLC reduced its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 28.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,797 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 2,713 shares during the quarter. GFG Capital LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $1,824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Running Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in Accenture by 14.3% in the third quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 57,541 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $14,190,000 after purchasing an additional 7,190 shares during the last quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Accenture by 28.8% during the 3rd quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,550 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $39,592,000 after buying an additional 35,900 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in Accenture by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 258,599 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $63,771,000 after acquiring an additional 38,325 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of Accenture by 180.4% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 404,680 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $99,794,000 after acquiring an additional 260,357 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 25.5% during the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 22,401 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $5,524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,552 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on ACN. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Accenture from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.88.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of ACN stock opened at $198.13 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $222.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $244.02. The stock has a market cap of $131.84 billion, a PE ratio of 16.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.27. 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 $187.00 and a 12 month high of $325.71.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the company posted $2.82 EPS. Accenture’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Accenture news, COO Catherine Kiernan Hogan sold 660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.93, for a total value of $185,413.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,564,439.84. The trade was a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.38, for a total value of $1,101,650.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,523,339.98. This represents a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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.