Welch & Forbes LLC Decreases Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Welch & Forbes LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 21.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 88,054 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 23,544 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $23,625,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Accenture during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on Accenture from $266.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. HSBC dropped their price target on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.50.

Accenture Stock Performance

NYSE ACN opened at $187.32 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business’s 50 day moving average is $185.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $226.50. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $155.82 and a 12-month high of $321.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.34, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.08.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (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 company 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 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Accenture’s payout ratio is presently 53.40%.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 owned by company insiders.

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.