Ancora Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 34,825 Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Ancora Advisors acquired 34,825 Accenture shares worth approximately $4.3 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 75.14% of the company.
• Accenture’s general counsel sold 10,498 shares for about $1.71 million under a pre-arranged trading plan. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $194.19.
• Accenture reported quarterly EPS of $3.80, topping estimates, while revenue rose 5.6% year over year to $18.72 billion. The company also authorized a $2 billion share buyback and pays an annualized dividend of $6.52 per share, yielding about 3.6%.

Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 34,825 shares of the information technology services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,334,000.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 17,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,890,450.30. The trade was a 37.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on ACN. William Blair cut Accenture from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Accenture from $151.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their price objective on Accenture from $135.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Berenberg Bank reduced their target price on shares of Accenture from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $194.19.

Accenture Stock Down 2.9%

NYSE ACN opened at $181.58 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $153.25 and its 200 day moving average is $178.62. 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 PLC has a 12 month low of $118.15 and a 12 month high of $291.09. The stock has a market cap of $121.26 billion, a PE ratio of 14.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Accenture declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Accenture's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.08%.

About Accenture

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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