NTV Asset Management LLC Acquires 4,410 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

NTV Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 256.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,127 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,410 shares during the quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $1,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Investors Research Corp lifted its holdings in Accenture by 73.8% during the 3rd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 106 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 132.6% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Davis Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,332 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $366,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 28,207 shares in the company, valued at $7,756,925. This trade represents a 4.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total value of $1,008,263.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,298,380.79. The trade was a 30.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of ACN opened at $201.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $133.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.24. Accenture PLC has a 52-week low of $187.00 and a 52-week high of $325.71. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $217.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $243.14. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. Accenture’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ACN. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Accenture from $266.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.88.

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.