Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Sells 45,074 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH decreased its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 649,446 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 45,074 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Accenture were worth $175,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Campbell Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter worth approximately $665,000. Leelyn Smith LLC lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 15,183 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,074,000 after acquiring an additional 901 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 436 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Optas LLC lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 55.9% in the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,629 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $705,000 after acquiring an additional 943 shares during the period. Finally, Ticino Wealth bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,053,000. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,679,963.65. This trade represents a 28.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total value of $1,008,263.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,298,380.79. This represents a 30.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 15,331 shares of company stock worth $4,048,871. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ACN. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price objective on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.50.

Accenture Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of ACN opened at $194.54 on Wednesday. Accenture PLC has a 1 year low of $177.50 and a 1 year high of $325.71. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $202.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $239.12. The stock has a market cap of $129.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.93, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.24.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued 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 analysts’ expectations of $17.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. Accenture’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.40%.

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.