Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Bought by Nilsine Partners LLC

Nilsine Partners LLC grew its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 177.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 18,466 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,819 shares during the period. Nilsine Partners LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $2,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Accenture in the third quarter worth $26,000. McMillan Office Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Accenture in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Accenture by 147.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 215 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Accenture by 134.8% during the 1st quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ACN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Accenture from $247.00 to $201.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 8th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $180.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 26th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Accenture from $135.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research report on Friday, June 19th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $194.19.

Accenture Trading Down 0.1%

Accenture stock opened at $186.53 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $124.57 billion, a PE ratio of 14.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.10. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $118.15 and a 12 month high of $291.09. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $161.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, June 19th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The business’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

Accenture announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to buy up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total transaction of $1,710,964.04. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 17,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. This represents a 37.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture 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.