Saudi Central Bank Increases Stock Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Saudi Central Bank increased its Accenture stake by 89.2% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 42,976 shares valued at approximately $5.35 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 75.14% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $194.19. Accenture shares recently opened at $186.53, below their 200-day moving average of $176.52 but above their 52-week low.
• Accenture exceeded quarterly earnings expectations with 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 a quarterly dividend of $1.63, representing a 3.5% annualized yield.

Saudi Central Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 89.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,976 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 20,264 shares during the quarter. Saudi Central Bank's holdings in Accenture were worth $5,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. boosted its position in Accenture by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. now owns 4,416 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,089,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Peak Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Accenture by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC now owns 5,447 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,461,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Accenture by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,751 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,108,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Intrua Financial LLC lifted its stake in Accenture by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 516 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total transaction of $1,710,964.04. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 17,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. This represents a 37.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ACN shares. Oppenheimer set a $201.00 price objective on Accenture in a report on Monday, June 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Accenture from $210.00 to $185.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 15th. Evercore set a $180.00 price target on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Accenture from $200.00 to $194.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, William Blair downgraded Accenture from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $194.19.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of ACN opened at $186.53 on Monday. 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 PLC has a fifty-two week low of $118.15 and a fifty-two week high of $291.09. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $161.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.52. The company has a market capitalization of $124.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.47% and a net margin of 10.66%.Accenture's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture announced that its board has initiated a share 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 repurchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Accenture's payout ratio is 52.08%.

Accenture 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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