Corient Private Wealth LP Lowers Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Corient Private Wealth LP trimmed its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 666,070 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 259,426 shares during the quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP owned 0.10% of Accenture worth $82,898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Accenture by 12,316.0% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 116,033,331 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $14,439,188,000 after buying an additional 115,098,783 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,264,675 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $7,583,462,000 after acquiring an additional 129,610 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Accenture by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,471,554 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $4,687,867,000 after purchasing an additional 343,420 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Accenture by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,656,436 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $3,922,212,000 after buying an additional 218,719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Accenture by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,173,338 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $2,192,907,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122,855 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,890,450.30. This represents a 37.18% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of ACN stock opened at $183.79 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $118.15 and a 12 month high of $291.09. The firm's 50-day moving average is $166.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $122.74 billion, a PE ratio of 14.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.10.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, June 19th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 26.47% and a net margin of 10.66%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. Analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.86 earnings per share 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 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 usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid 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 presently 52.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on ACN shares. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Accenture from $151.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of Accenture from $165.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Accenture from $280.00 to $226.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $230.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their target price on Accenture from $225.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $194.19.

Accenture Company Profile

Accenture plc is a global professional services company that helps organizations improve business performance through consulting, technology, and managed services. Its offerings include strategy and consulting, technology implementation, operations support, and business process services.

The company provides digital transformation services involving cloud computing, artificial intelligence, data and analytics, cybersecurity, systems integration, and enterprise software. Through its Song and Industry X businesses, Accenture also supports customer experience, marketing, product engineering, and smart manufacturing initiatives.

Accenture serves clients across a broad range of industries, including financial services, health care, public service, communications, media and technology, consumer goods, retail, resources, and industrial markets.

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