Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN – Get Free Report) CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
Accenture Stock Up 0.7%
Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $179.96 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a 52-week low of $173.65 and a 52-week high of $325.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $196.46 and a 200 day moving average of $235.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.75 billion, a PE ratio of 14.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34.
Accenture (NYSE:ACN – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The company had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.82 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Accenture Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.40%.
Institutional Trading of Accenture
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the first quarter worth about $44,000. United Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 16.5% during the first quarter. United Bank now owns 5,694 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,129,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares during the period. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the first quarter worth about $540,000. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lifted its stake in Accenture by 61.0% in the first quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 30,185 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $5,985,000 after acquiring an additional 11,436 shares during the period. Finally, 180 Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Accenture by 42.1% in the first quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,354 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of brokerages have commented on ACN. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 16th. HSBC cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.50.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on ACN
About Accenture
(Get Free Report)
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.
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