FourThought Financial Partners LLC Sells 5,052 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

FourThought Financial Partners LLC decreased its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 16.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,952 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 5,052 shares during the quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $6,695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ACN. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the third quarter worth $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Steph & Co. lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 107.5% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 110 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $179.12 on Thursday. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $155.82 and a fifty-two 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. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $188.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $229.64.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. 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 last year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ACN. Guggenheim dropped their target price 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. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Accenture from $317.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price target on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Accenture news, 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 value of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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.