Provident Trust Co. Sells 65,236 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Provident Trust Co. trimmed its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,534,861 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 65,236 shares during the quarter. Accenture accounts for approximately 6.9% of Provident Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Provident Trust Co.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $411,803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ACN. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Davis Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ACN shares. HSBC cut their price objective on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 6th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Accenture presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.50.

Accenture Price Performance

ACN stock opened at $179.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Accenture PLC has a 52-week low of $173.65 and a 52-week high of $325.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $196.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $235.84. The company has a market capitalization of $119.75 billion, a PE ratio of 14.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.09.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. The company 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. Analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is 53.40%.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total transaction of $1,461,130.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. This represents a 28.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,943 shares of company stock valued at $2,327,545. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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.