Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by Polen Capital Management LLC

Polen Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 23.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,882,707 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 579,052 shares during the period. Accenture comprises 2.2% of Polen Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Polen Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.31% of Accenture worth $505,130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 878 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Clayton Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 329 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 0.9% during the 3rd 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,751 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,108,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Peak Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC now owns 5,447 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,461,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $167.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Accenture PLC has a 1-year low of $155.82 and a 1-year high of $318.62. The business has a 50-day moving average of $182.33 and a 200-day moving average of $222.20. The company has a market capitalization of $111.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73, a PEG ratio of 1.62 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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 3.9%. Accenture’s payout ratio is 53.40%.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ACN shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Accenture from $275.00 to $248.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Accenture from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Accenture from $210.00 to $199.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.89.

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.