Compass Capital Management Inc. Trims Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Compass Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 222,534 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 5,626 shares during the period. Accenture accounts for about 3.3% of Compass Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Compass Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $59,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 96.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 107.5% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 110 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Stock Down 1.6%

ACN opened at $167.69 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $182.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $222.20. The company has a market cap of $111.59 billion, a PE ratio of 13.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.08. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $155.82 and a 1 year high of $318.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.82 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.40%.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value 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 $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Oppenheimer set a $201.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Accenture from $247.00 to $201.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Accenture from $210.00 to $199.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.89.

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.