Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by Banque Pictet & Cie SA

Banque Pictet & Cie SA decreased its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 25,705 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 2,848 shares during the quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA’s holdings in Accenture were worth $6,897,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Investors Research Corp grew its position in Accenture by 73.8% in the 3rd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 106 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in Accenture in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Davis Capital Management acquired a new stake in Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Accenture from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Accenture currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.88.

Accenture Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of ACN stock opened at $201.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market cap of $133.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s fifty day moving average is $218.82 and its 200-day moving average is $243.39. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $187.00 and a 1 year 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.38, for a total value of $1,101,650.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 27,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,523,339.98. The trade was a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Catherine Kiernan Hogan sold 660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.93, for a total value of $185,413.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,688 shares in the company, valued at $3,564,439.84. This represents a 4.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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.