Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC cut its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 54.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,979 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 3,547 shares during the period. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $799,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ACN. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Accenture during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Investors Research Corp lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 132.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Davis Capital Management acquired a new position in Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total transaction of $1,008,263.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 8,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,298,380.79. This trade represents a 30.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $3,679,963.65. This represents a 28.42% 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 valued at $5,970,434. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Down 0.7%

Accenture stock opened at $196.98 on Thursday. 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 PLC has a one year low of $187.00 and a one year high of $325.71. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $220.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $243.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.27.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. Accenture’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on Accenture from $266.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $313.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.