Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Lowers Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. decreased its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 66,958 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 3,072 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $17,965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Accenture by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 878 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. increased its position in shares of Accenture by 0.9% during the third quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. now owns 4,416 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 1.2% during the second quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,751 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,108,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 927 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Investors Research Corp grew its stake in Accenture by 73.8% in the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 106 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other Accenture 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 value of $1,101,650.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,221 shares in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total transaction of $1,008,263.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,298,380.79. This represents a 30.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Accenture Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $201.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $133.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $187.00 and a 12-month high of $325.71. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $217.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $243.14.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The firm had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACN has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on Accenture from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. HSBC raised shares of Accenture from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $220.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.88.

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.