SVB Wealth LLC Trims Stock Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

SVB Wealth LLC trimmed its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 25.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 28,755 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 9,900 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $7,715,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Steph & Co. increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 57 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $180.41 on Monday. Accenture PLC has a 1-year low of $172.52 and a 1-year high of $325.71. The stock has a market cap of $120.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $194.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $234.53.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its earnings results 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. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The company had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.82 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total value of $1,461,130.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at $3,679,963.65. This trade represents a 28.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Mizuho dropped 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.50.

Accenture Company 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.