Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by Archford Capital Strategies LLC

Archford Capital Strategies LLC reduced its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 91.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bright Rock Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Accenture by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Bright Rock Capital Management LLC now owns 35,000 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $9,390,000 after acquiring an additional 7,000 shares during the period. Parkwoods Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Accenture during the fourth quarter worth approximately $207,000. Lord & Richards Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Accenture by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Lord & Richards Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,194 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Accenture by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 2,064 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its position in shares of Accenture by 317.9% in the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,272 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $884,000 after buying an additional 2,489 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of ACN stock opened at $196.98 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.24. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $187.00 and a fifty-two week high of $325.71. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $220.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $243.69.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.82 EPS. Accenture’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,523,339.98. This trade represents a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 15,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. This trade represents a 28.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ACN. Mizuho dropped their target price 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. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on shares of Accenture from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Accenture from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $220.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.88.

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.