Hartline Investment Corp Lowers Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Hartline Investment Corp cut its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 82.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,010 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 4,800 shares during the quarter. Hartline Investment Corp’s holdings in Accenture were worth $271,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ACN. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Accenture in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 96.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 107.5% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 110 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Accenture Stock Performance

NYSE:ACN opened at $179.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $187.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $228.79. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $155.82 and a 1 year high of $321.77. The company has a market capitalization of $119.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 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 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 business had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.50.

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.