NewEdge Advisors LLC Sells 17,692 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• NewEdge Advisors reduced its Accenture position by 22.2%, selling 17,692 shares in the second quarter and retaining 61,826 shares valued at approximately $7.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 75.14% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Accenture has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $194.19, with 12 Buy, 14 Hold, and one Sell rating.
• Accenture reported quarterly EPS of $3.80, exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 5.6% year over year to $18.72 billion. The company also declared a $1.63 quarterly dividend and authorized a $2 billion share buyback.

NewEdge Advisors LLC cut its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 22.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,826 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 17,692 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in Accenture were worth $7,694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACN has been the topic of a number of research reports. William Blair lowered Accenture from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Accenture from $225.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Accenture from $135.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Argus dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $335.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on shares of Accenture from $180.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 26th. 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $194.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 17,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,890,450.30. This trade represents a 37.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Accenture Price Performance

ACN stock opened at $183.79 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $166.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.50. The firm has a market cap of $122.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current 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.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. 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 analyst estimates of $18.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were issued 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 dividend yield of 3.5%. Accenture's payout ratio is 52.08%.

Accenture declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture 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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