20,602 Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by Bell Asset Management Ltd

Key Points

• Bell Asset Management cut its Accenture stake by 62.8% in the third quarter, selling 20,602 shares and retaining 12,203 shares valued at approximately $2.24 million.
• Accenture exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.29 in adjusted earnings per share and $18.68 billion in revenue, with revenue up 6.2% year over year.
• The company authorized a $2 billion share buyback and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.71 per share, while analysts maintained a consensus “Hold” rating with a $219.15 price target.

Bell Asset Management Ltd reduced its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 62.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,203 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 20,602 shares during the quarter. Bell Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Accenture were worth $2,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Flossbach Von Storch SE bought a new stake in Accenture during the second quarter valued at approximately $309,873,000. 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. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Accenture by 84.0% during the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,405,683 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $477,023,000 after buying an additional 1,097,961 shares in the last quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth $253,120,000. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its stake in Accenture by 67.6% in the third quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 2,196,789 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $402,825,000 after acquiring an additional 885,687 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $208.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $118.15 and a one year high of $291.09. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $183.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $173.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.11.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.53% and a net margin of 11.28%.The firm had revenue of $18.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.03 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. Analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. This is an increase from Accenture's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 13th. Accenture's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.08%.

Insider Activity

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 value of $1,710,964.04. Following the sale, the general counsel directly 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 transaction 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 owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. William Blair lowered Accenture from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets set a $235.00 price objective on Accenture in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Accenture from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Berenberg Bank cut their target price on Accenture from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Evercore set a $250.00 price target on shares of Accenture and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Accenture has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $219.15.

About Accenture

Accenture plc NYSE: ACN is a global professional services company that helps organizations improve performance, modernize operations and respond to technological and market changes. Its services span strategy and consulting, technology, operations, and managed services, with expertise across industries including communications, financial services, health care, public service, retail, manufacturing and resources.

The company provides digital transformation, cloud migration, data and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, systems integration and technology implementation services.

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