Elk River Wealth Management LLC Sells 5,164 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Elk River Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 26.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,565 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 5,164 shares during the period. Elk River Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $3,908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Running Oak Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Accenture by 14.3% during the third quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 57,541 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $14,190,000 after buying an additional 7,190 shares during the period. Weitz Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Accenture by 28.8% during the third quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,550 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $39,592,000 after buying an additional 35,900 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of Accenture by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 282,340 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $75,752,000 after buying an additional 61,314 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of Accenture by 180.4% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 404,680 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $99,794,000 after buying an additional 260,357 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Accenture by 197.2% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 141,484 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $37,960,000 after buying an additional 93,880 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE:ACN opened at $179.12 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $188.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $229.64. 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 PLC has a 52 week low of $155.82 and a 52 week high of $322.86. The stock has a market cap of $119.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.08.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $313.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target 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. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. HSBC reduced their price target on shares of Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.