Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Sold by Seilern Investment Management Ltd

Key Points

• Seilern Investment Management reduced its Accenture stake by 5.4% in the second quarter, selling 9,343 shares and retaining 163,642 shares worth approximately $20.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 75.14% of the company.
• Accenture reported quarterly EPS of $3.80, beating estimates by $0.10, while revenue rose 5.6% year over year to $18.72 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share and authorized a $2 billion share-repurchase program.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with the stock carrying a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $192.96 after several firms lowered their targets.

Seilern Investment Management Ltd decreased its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 163,642 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 9,343 shares during the period. Accenture accounts for 2.6% of Seilern Investment Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Seilern Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Accenture were worth $20,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ACN. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Accenture by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $6,486,000 after acquiring an additional 4,905 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Accenture by 46.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $618,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. United Bank increased its position in Accenture by 49.8% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Accenture by 23.0% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 828 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its position in Accenture by 4.2% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of ACN stock opened at $175.49 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $187.15. The company has a market capitalization of $117.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.09. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $118.15 and a twelve 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.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 19th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The firm's revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Accenture's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

Accenture announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase 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 buy up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ACN shares. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $186.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Accenture from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Accenture from $177.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Berenberg Bank cut their price objective on Accenture from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on Accenture from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $192.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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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