HMS Capital Management LLC Sells 2,767 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

HMS Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 58.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,006 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 2,767 shares during the quarter. HMS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ACN. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Investors Research Corp raised its position in shares of Accenture by 73.8% during the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 106 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Accenture by 132.6% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Accenture in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Davis Capital Management acquired a new stake in Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ACN shares. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.88.

Accenture Stock Performance

NYSE:ACN opened at $196.98 on Thursday. 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 twelve month low of $187.00 and a twelve month high of $325.71. The company has a fifty day moving average of $220.50 and a 200-day moving average of $243.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.27.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. 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 business had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. Accenture’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company 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 $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Catherine Kiernan Hogan sold 660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.93, for a total transaction of $185,413.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,688 shares in the company, valued at $3,564,439.84. The trade was a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total value of $1,461,130.11. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at $3,679,963.65. The trade was a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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.