NewEdge Advisors LLC Has $7.69 Million Stake in Accenture PLC $ACN

NewEdge Advisors LLC lessened its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 22.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,826 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 17,692 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $7,694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings 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 last quarter. McMillan Office Inc. acquired a new position in Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 134.8% in the first quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 17,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. The trade was a 37.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on Accenture from $180.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Accenture from $210.00 to $185.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Accenture from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $151.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, William Blair downgraded shares of Accenture from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $194.19.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $183.79 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $118.15 and a twelve month high of $291.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $166.88 and its 200-day moving average is $175.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.10.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 19th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. Accenture had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The business had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. Accenture’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

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

About Accenture

Accenture plc is a global professional services company that helps organizations improve business performance through consulting, technology, and managed services. Its offerings include strategy and consulting, technology implementation, operations support, and business process services.

The company provides digital transformation services involving cloud computing, artificial intelligence, data and analytics, cybersecurity, systems integration, and enterprise software. Through its Song and Industry X businesses, Accenture also supports customer experience, marketing, product engineering, and smart manufacturing initiatives.

Accenture serves clients across a broad range of industries, including financial services, health care, public service, communications, media and technology, consumer goods, retail, resources, and industrial markets.