Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 43.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,863 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 13,217 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $4,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ACN. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Accenture in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 96.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 107.5% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 110 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total value of $1,461,130.11. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at $3,679,963.65. This represents a 28.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on ACN. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Accenture from $317.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Berenberg Bank began coverage on Accenture in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $313.00 price objective on the stock. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.50.

Accenture Stock Performance

NYSE ACN opened at $180.41 on Monday. 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 $172.52 and a 52-week high of $325.71. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $194.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $234.53. The firm has a market cap of $120.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued 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 3.6%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.40%.

About Accenture

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.