Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by Archford Capital Strategies LLC

Archford Capital Strategies LLC lessened its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 91.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 804 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 8,658 shares during the quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $216,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ACN. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Accenture by 41.1% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,128,134 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,223,839,000 after buying an additional 4,984,930 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the third quarter worth $311,694,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 12.8% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,147,796 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,502,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,148,970 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture during the third quarter valued at $268,578,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Accenture by 85.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,041,945 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $503,544,000 after purchasing an additional 943,371 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In related news, insider Manish Sharma sold 2,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.13, for a total value of $786,883.03. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,033,333.41. This trade represents a 27.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $366,300.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 28,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,756,925. The trade was a 4.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 22,088 shares of company stock valued at $5,970,434 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on shares of Accenture from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.88.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of ACN stock opened at $196.98 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $220.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $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 1.24. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $187.00 and a 12 month high of $325.71.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is 53.40%.

Accenture Company 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.