Rockland Trust Co. Sells 3,649 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Rockland Trust Co. decreased its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 84,399 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 3,649 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $22,644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Running Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 14.3% in the third quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 57,541 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $14,190,000 after buying an additional 7,190 shares during the period. Weitz Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Accenture by 28.8% during the 3rd quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,550 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $39,592,000 after acquiring an additional 35,900 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in Accenture by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 258,599 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $63,771,000 after acquiring an additional 38,325 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Accenture by 180.4% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 404,680 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $99,794,000 after purchasing an additional 260,357 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Accenture by 25.5% in the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 22,401 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $5,524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,552 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ACN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $266.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Accenture presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.88.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.38, for a total transaction of $1,101,650.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,523,339.98. The trade was a 12.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total value of $1,461,130.11. Following 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 22,088 shares of company stock valued at $5,970,434 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Price Performance

ACN opened at $198.13 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $131.84 billion, a PE ratio of 16.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $222.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $244.02. Accenture PLC has a 52-week low of $187.00 and a 52-week high of $325.71.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.04 billion for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.82 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Accenture’s payout ratio is presently 53.40%.

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.