Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 37,389 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,626,000.
Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Accenture by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 282,340 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $75,752,000 after acquiring an additional 61,314 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Accenture by 197.2% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 141,484 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $37,960,000 after acquiring an additional 93,880 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Accenture by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 557,516 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $149,582,000 after acquiring an additional 149,357 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,070,930 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $17,726,831,000 after acquiring an additional 854,361 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 335,314 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $89,965,000 after acquiring an additional 36,037 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.
Accenture Price Performance
ACN opened at $176.60 on Monday. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $118.15 and a 12-month high of $291.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $117.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.11, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.88.
Accenture declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Accenture Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. Accenture’s payout ratio is presently 52.08%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the general counsel owned 17,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,890,450.30. This trade represents a 37.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho cut their target price on Accenture from $280.00 to $226.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Accenture from $186.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 22nd. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Accenture from $275.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Argus cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $335.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $192.96.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on ACN
Accenture Company 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.
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