Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by Compass Capital Management Inc.

Compass Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 222,534 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 5,626 shares during the quarter. Accenture comprises about 3.3% of Compass Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Compass Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $59,706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 96.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 107.5% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 110 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. HSBC decreased their target price on shares of Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Truist Financial lowered shares of Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Accenture currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.89.

Accenture Price Performance

Accenture stock opened at $167.69 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $155.82 and a 52 week high of $318.62. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $182.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $222.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.59 billion, a PE ratio of 13.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.08.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is 53.40%.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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.