First Western Trust Bank Buys 229 Shares of Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN)

First Western Trust Bank boosted its stake in shares of Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN – Get Rating) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,061 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the quarter. Accenture comprises approximately 0.5% of First Western Trust Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. First Western Trust Bank’s holdings in Accenture were worth $8,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 1.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,473,666 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $15,045,274,000 after buying an additional 816,734 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in Accenture by 0.7% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 46,363,742 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $11,929,391,000 after purchasing an additional 319,707 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Accenture by 5.1% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,296,119 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,877,293,000 after purchasing an additional 354,513 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Accenture by 4.1% in the third quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 5,598,625 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,440,525,000 after purchasing an additional 219,573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. raised its stake in Accenture by 41.6% in the third quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 5,457,405 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,404,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,603,071 shares in the last quarter. 73.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Accenture from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 24th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a report on Monday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Accenture from $311.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 24th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Monday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Accenture from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.00.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACN traded up $12.00 during trading on Friday, reaching $303.76. 2,718,487 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,386,221. Accenture plc has a 1-year low of $242.80 and a 1-year high of $322.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $276.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $277.13. The firm has a market cap of $191.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.25.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 23rd. The information technology services provider reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.20. Accenture had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 11.00%. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.54 earnings per share. Accenture’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Accenture plc will post 11.57 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 13th were given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 12th. Accenture’s payout ratio is 41.25%.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In related news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 2,954 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.05, for a total value of $827,267.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,849,742.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Accenture news, insider Jean-Marc Ollagnier sold 6,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.06, for a total value of $1,750,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 174,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,753,965.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 2,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.05, for a total value of $827,267.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,849,742.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,010 shares of company stock valued at $4,180,030. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Accenture Profile

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Accenture Plc engages in the provision of management consulting, technology, and outsourcing services. It operates through the following geographical segments: North America, Europe and Growth Markets. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.