Rathbones Group PLC Sells 199,195 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Rathbones Group PLC trimmed its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 18.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 906,565 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 199,195 shares during the quarter. Accenture makes up approximately 0.8% of Rathbones Group PLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Rathbones Group PLC owned approximately 0.15% of Accenture worth $243,231,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Investors Research Corp raised its position in shares of Accenture by 73.8% in the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 106 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Accenture by 132.6% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Accenture during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Davis Capital Management bought a new position in Accenture in the third quarter valued at $28,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.38, for a total transaction of $1,101,650.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,221 shares in the company, valued at $7,523,339.98. The trade was a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total value of $1,008,263.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,298,380.79. The trade was a 30.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $201.18 on Monday. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $187.00 and a 12 month high of $325.71. The company has a market cap of $133.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.24. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $217.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $243.20.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. The business 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 business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Accenture’s payout ratio is 53.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ACN. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Accenture from $266.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.88.

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.