Savant Capital LLC Lowers Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Savant Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 51.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 40,909 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 43,351 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $10,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Running Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 14.3% during the third quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 57,541 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $14,190,000 after buying an additional 7,190 shares during the period. Weitz Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 28.8% during the third quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,550 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $39,592,000 after buying an additional 35,900 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 282,340 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $75,752,000 after buying an additional 61,314 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 180.4% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 404,680 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $99,794,000 after buying an additional 260,357 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 197.2% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 141,484 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $37,960,000 after buying an additional 93,880 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Accenture Stock Up 5.0%

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $187.32 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $124.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.08. 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 PLC has a 12-month low of $155.82 and a 12-month high of $321.77. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $185.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $226.50.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.80 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. Accenture’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict 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. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Accenture from $317.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.50.

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.