Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN – Free Report) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 15,448 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,922,000.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Foster & Motley Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,628,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new position in Accenture in the 2nd quarter worth about $11,183,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,996,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,626,000. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the second quarter worth approximately $75,834,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Accenture Stock Up 2.0%
Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $185.04 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.36. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $118.15 and a 52 week high of $291.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $123.57 billion, a PE ratio of 14.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.09.
Accenture Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is 52.08%.
Accenture declared that its Board of Directors has approved 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 buy up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several analysts recently commented on ACN shares. TD Cowen cut Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $258.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Friday, June 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective 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. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Accenture from $280.00 to $226.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Argus lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $335.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Accenture currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $192.96.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on ACN
Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture
In related news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total value of $1,710,964.04. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.
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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