S Bank Fund Management Ltd Reduces Stock Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

S Bank Fund Management Ltd cut its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 20.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,984 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 4,624 shares during the period. S Bank Fund Management Ltd’s holdings in Accenture were worth $4,825,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Accenture by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,128,134 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,223,839,000 after purchasing an additional 4,984,930 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth $311,694,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Accenture by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,147,796 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,502,446,000 after buying an additional 1,148,970 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture during the third quarter valued at about $268,578,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Accenture by 85.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,041,945 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $503,544,000 after acquiring an additional 943,371 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $179.10 on Wednesday. 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 market capitalization of $119.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $173.56 and a twelve month high of $325.71. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $195.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $235.35.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The firm had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.80 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Accenture’s payout ratio is 53.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.50.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In related news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total transaction of $1,461,130.11. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at $3,679,963.65. This represents a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.