Donaldson Capital Management LLC Sells 8,306 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Donaldson Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACNFree Report) by 15.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,402 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 8,306 shares during the quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $11,913,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ACN. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Accenture by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,135,065 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $6,938,156,000 after acquiring an additional 118,460 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Accenture by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,128,134 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,223,839,000 after purchasing an additional 4,984,930 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,148,970 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Accenture by 9.0% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 9,615,366 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,371,149,000 after purchasing an additional 790,580 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 4.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,050,483 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,738,649,000 after purchasing an additional 295,762 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total transaction of $1,461,130.11. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. The trade was a 28.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.38, for a total transaction of $1,101,650.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,523,339.98. This represents a 12.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ACN. HSBC upgraded shares of Accenture from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $220.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. 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. Argus lowered their price objective on shares of Accenture from $370.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Berenberg Bank began coverage on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $313.00 target price for the company. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on Accenture from $317.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.88.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on Accenture

Accenture News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

Accenture Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $192.60 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $225.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $244.63. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $187.00 and a 12 month high of $325.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.16 billion, a PE ratio of 15.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.28.

Accenture (NYSE:ACNGet Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.40%.

About Accenture

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Accenture (NYSE:ACN)

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