Independent Advisor Alliance Decreases Stake in Accenture PLC $ACN

Independent Advisor Alliance reduced its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 28.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,398 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 5,653 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Accenture were worth $3,863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Accenture during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in Accenture by 96.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. increased its stake in Accenture by 107.5% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup cut their price target on Accenture from $266.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Accenture currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.50.

Accenture Trading Down 5.9%

Accenture stock opened at $159.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $106.26 billion, a PE ratio of 13.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $192.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.35. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $155.82 and a 52 week high of $324.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $18.04 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.40%.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the firm’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 directly owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.