Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Sells 5,188 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. cut its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 89,578 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 5,188 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $24,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ACN. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Accenture by 96.4% in the 4th 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 period. Finally, Steph & Co. boosted its holdings in Accenture by 107.5% in the 4th 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 period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Accenture Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $187.32 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $226.37. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $155.82 and a 12-month high of $321.77.

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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.82 EPS. Research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ACN. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $317.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.50.

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.