AXQ Capital LP Acquires Shares of 10,074 Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• AXQ Capital LP acquired 10,074 Accenture shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.254 million. Institutional investors collectively own 75.14% of Accenture’s stock.
• Accenture reported quarterly EPS of $3.80, exceeding estimates of $3.70, while revenue rose 5.6% year over year to $18.72 billion. The company also authorized a $2 billion share-repurchase program and maintains a 3.5% annualized dividend yield.
• Accenture shares opened at $186.53, with analysts assigning a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $194.19. Recent analyst targets range from $130 to $175, reflecting mixed views on the stock’s outlook.

AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 10,074 shares of the information technology services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,254,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,146,995,000. Flossbach Von Storch SE acquired a new position in Accenture in the 2nd quarter valued at $309,873,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $690,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899,305 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth $311,694,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,173,338 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $2,192,907,000 after buying an additional 1,122,855 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total transaction 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 represents a 37.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Accenture Trading Down 3.4%

ACN opened at $186.53 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.57 billion, a PE ratio of 14.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.10. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $118.15 and a one year 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $161.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.85.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The company 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%. Accenture's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.86 EPS for the current year.

Accenture declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Accenture's payout ratio is 52.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research note on Friday, June 19th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Accenture from $151.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Accenture from $177.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. DA Davidson cut their price target on Accenture from $275.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, William Blair downgraded Accenture from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Twelve equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Accenture presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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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