Foster & Motley Inc. Makes New Investment in Accenture PLC $ACN

Foster & Motley Inc. purchased a new stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 21,119 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,628,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,146,995,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 120.0% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,482,150 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $690,475,000 after buying an additional 1,899,305 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at $311,694,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,173,338 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,192,907,000 after acquiring an additional 1,122,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in Accenture by 84.0% in the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,405,683 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $477,023,000 after acquiring an additional 1,097,961 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $173.16 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $181.45. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $118.15 and a 12-month high of $291.09. The firm has a market cap of $115.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 19th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 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 the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current year.

Accenture declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to purchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the business’s 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 directly owned 17,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. The trade was a 37.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Accenture from $177.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research report on Friday, June 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Accenture from $247.00 to $201.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Accenture from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Accenture currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $192.96.

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.