Ancora Advisors LLC Has $4.33 Million Stock Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Ancora Advisors cut its Accenture stake by 65.4% in the second quarter, selling 65,909 shares and retaining 34,825 shares valued at approximately $4.33 million. Institutional investors collectively own 75.14% of Accenture.
• Accenture beat quarterly earnings expectations with adjusted EPS of $3.80, while revenue rose 5.6% year over year to $18.72 billion. The company also authorized a $2 billion share-repurchase program and pays an annualized dividend of $6.52 per share, yielding about 3.5%.
• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on ACN, with a $194.19 average price target; recent firms lowered targets to between $140 and $150. The stock opened at $188.08, down 0.9%.

Ancora Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 65.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,825 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 65,909 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC's holdings in Accenture were worth $4,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. McMillan Office Inc. bought a new position in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Accenture during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 134.8% in the first quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

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 completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 17,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. The trade was a 37.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Accenture Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:ACN opened at $188.08 on Wednesday. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $118.15 and a 52 week high of $291.09. The firm's fifty day moving average is $158.25 and its 200-day moving average is $177.25. The firm has a market cap of $125.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 19th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. Accenture had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The business had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.49 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to purchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Accenture's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ACN shares. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Evercore set a $180.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a report on Friday, June 19th. Oppenheimer set a $201.00 price objective on Accenture in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on Accenture from $186.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $194.19.

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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