Cygnus Capital Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 7,500 Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Cygnus Capital Advisors acquired 7,500 Accenture shares worth approximately $933,000 in the second quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 75.14% of the company.
• Accenture exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting adjusted earnings of $3.80 per share versus the $3.70 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 5.6% year over year to $18.72 billion.
• The company authorized a $2 billion share buyback and maintains a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share, equivalent to a 3.5% annualized yield. Analysts hold a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $194.19.

Cygnus Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,500 shares of the information technology services provider's stock, valued at approximately $933,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ACN. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Accenture during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Accenture by 147.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 215 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. McMillan Office Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Accenture Trading Down 0.1%

ACN opened at $186.53 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $118.15 and a fifty-two week high of $291.09. The company's 50 day moving average price is $163.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.90, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.10.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 19th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share 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 net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. Accenture's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.49 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology services provider to buy up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. Accenture's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

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 shares were sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total transaction of $1,710,964.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 17,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. This trade represents a 37.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Accenture from $270.00 to $230.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Accenture from $247.00 to $201.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 8th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research note on Friday, June 19th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Accenture from $280.00 to $226.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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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