Strs Ohio Sells 43,913 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Strs Ohio lowered its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 23.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 141,857 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 43,913 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Accenture were worth $38,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Accenture in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Accenture during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Steph & Co. raised its position in Accenture by 107.5% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 110 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $179.96 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $196.46 and a 200 day moving average of $235.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $119.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.09. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $173.65 and a 52 week high of $325.71.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) 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 return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ACN. Mizuho dropped their target price on Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $313.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, HSBC lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Accenture has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.50.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total transaction of $1,461,130.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. The trade was a 28.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,943 shares of company stock valued at $2,327,545. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture 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.