Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) to Issue $1.63 Quarterly Dividend

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a dividend of 1.63 per share by the information technology services provider on Friday, May 15th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th.

Accenture has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 20 consecutive years. Accenture has a payout ratio of 47.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Accenture to earn $13.73 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 47.5%.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $203.16 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $125.07 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $235.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $247.16. Accenture has a twelve month low of $187.00 and a twelve month high of $325.71.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.65% and a net margin of 10.76%.The business had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.82 earnings per share. Accenture’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Accenture will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,332 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $366,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 28,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,756,925. The trade was a 4.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total value of $1,461,130.11. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at $3,679,963.65. This trade represents a 28.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Accenture

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ACN. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Accenture by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 878 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Accenture by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 329 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. boosted its stake in Accenture by 0.9% during the third 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 valued at $1,089,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Peak Asset Management LLC grew its position in Accenture by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC now owns 5,447 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,461,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,751 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,108,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.