Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by Townsquare Capital LLC

Townsquare Capital LLC reduced its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 58.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,496 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 6,242 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $1,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 114.7% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 7,306 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,960,000 after acquiring an additional 3,903 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 74,054 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $19,869,000 after acquiring an additional 4,640 shares during the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 1,747 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $469,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 186.1% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 216,419 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $58,065,000 after acquiring an additional 140,766 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 72,620 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $19,484,000 after acquiring an additional 16,385 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $170.76 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $182.94 and a 200 day moving average of $222.79. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $155.82 and a 12 month high of $321.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.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 business posted $2.82 EPS. Accenture’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ACN. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Accenture from $282.00 to $258.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price target on Accenture in a report on Thursday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Accenture from $247.00 to $201.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Citigroup lowered their price target on Accenture from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $260.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company 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.