Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN – Get Rating) General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 555 shares of Accenture in a trade that took place on Thursday, July 28. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $166,500.00. Following the transaction, the General Counsel now directly owns 25,601 shares of the company, valued at approximately $7,680,300. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, accessible via this hyperlink.

Joel Unruch also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, July 25, Joel Unruch sold 556 shares of Accenture. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.51, for a total value of $159,855.56.

Accenture Pricing Performance

Accenture stock traded at $0.91 at midday on Friday, hitting $304.59. 62,119 shares of the company were traded, against an average volume of 2,519,831. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $285.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $311.00 . The company has a market capitalization of $192.67 billion, a price/earnings ratio of 29.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.22. Accenture plc has a 52-week low of $261.77 and a 52-week high of $417.37.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN – Get Rating) last released quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 23. The information technology services provider reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.79 for the quarter, missing analyst consensus estimates of $2.84 per ($0.05). The company posted revenue of $16.16 billion for the quarter, versus $16.05 billion expected by analysts. Accenture had a net margin of 11.13% and a return on equity of 31.50%. During the same period a year earlier, the company posted earnings per share of $2.40. On average, sell-side analysts expect Accenture plc to post EPS of 10.68 for the current year.

Accenture announces dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 15. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 14 will receive a dividend of $0.97. This represents a dividend of $3.88 on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 13. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.63%.

Accenture Institutional Trading

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently changed their holdings in the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Accenture in Q4 worth around $31,000. Citizens National Bank Trust Department purchased a new position at Accenture in Q4 worth approximately $31,000. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Accenture by 111.1% in the fourth quarter. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 76 shares of the information technology service provider worth $32,000 after acquiring 40 more shares in the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group bought a new position in Accenture in Q1 worth around $26,000. Finally, Ulland Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Accenture in Q1 worth around $29,000. 74.46% of the shares are held by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A Wall Street analyst gives his opinion

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ACN’s stock. Robert W. Baird lowered his price target on Accenture from $340.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 24. BNP Paribas has downgraded Accenture from an “outperforming” rating to a “neutral” rating and has set a price target of $320.00 for the stock. in a report on Wednesday, June 29. Cowen cut his price target on Accenture from $330.00 to $325.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a Friday, June 24 report. Morgan Stanley lowered its price target on Accenture shares from $390.00 to $385.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a Friday, June 24 report. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began covering Accenture shares in a research note on Friday, June 24. They set a “hold” rating and a price target of $337.00 for the company. Eight investment analysts gave the stock a hold rating and thirteen gave the company a buy rating. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $358.84.

About Accenture

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Accenture plc, a professional services firm, provides strategy and consulting, interactive, technology and operational services worldwide. The Company offers application services, including agile transformation, DevOps, application modernization, enterprise architecture, software and quality engineering, data management, intelligent automation includes robotic process automation, natural language processing and virtual agents, and liquid application management services, as well as program, project and service management services; strategy consulting services; critical data elements, data management and governance, data platform and architecture, product-based organization and skills, business adoption and value realization services; digitization of engineering, research and development; design and development of smart connected products; product platform engineering and modernization; activation of the product as a service; products related to production and operations; autonomous robotic systems; the digital transformation of investment projects; and digital industrial workforce solutions.

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