Windward Capital Management Co. CA Sells 4,110 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Windward Capital Management Co. CA cut its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 118,790 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 4,110 shares during the quarter. Accenture comprises about 2.5% of Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s holdings in Accenture were worth $31,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of Accenture by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 20,355 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $5,721,000 after buying an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. Quent Long Short Global Small Cap Fund LP acquired a new stake in Accenture during the fourth quarter worth approximately $918,000. Sage Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Accenture by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Sage Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,058 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $552,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Accenture by 63.9% in the 4th quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,643 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after acquiring an additional 2,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, waypoint wealth counsel bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter valued at $453,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, HSBC lowered their target price on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total transaction of $1,008,263.88. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Catherine Kiernan Hogan sold 660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.93, for a total transaction of $185,413.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 12,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,564,439.84. The trade was a 4.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,305 shares of company stock valued at $3,759,847. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Down 6.1%

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $178.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $118.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.24. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $174.87 and a 12-month high of $325.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $200.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $238.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.82 EPS. Analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

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 given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Accenture’s payout ratio is 53.40%.

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.