Truist Financial Corp Cuts Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Truist Financial Corp trimmed its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 342,285 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 41,122 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Accenture were worth $91,835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Accenture in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in Accenture by 96.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. increased its stake in Accenture by 107.5% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 110 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of ACN opened at $180.24 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $119.94 billion, a PE ratio of 14.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $196.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $235.78. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $173.65 and a 12-month high of $325.71.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In related news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,679,963.65. This trade represents a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. This represents 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,943 shares of company stock valued at $2,327,545. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.50.

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.