Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas Buys 13,244 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• Smith Chas P & Associates increased its Accenture stake by 8.3%, buying 13,244 shares to hold 172,023 shares valued at approximately $21.4 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 75.14% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $194.19 after several firms lowered their targets.
• Accenture shares recently traded at $183.79, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $3.80 and 5.6% year-over-year revenue growth. It also announced a $2 billion share-buyback program and pays an annualized dividend of $6.52 per share.

Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas increased its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 172,023 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after buying an additional 13,244 shares during the period. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas' holdings in Accenture were worth $21,406,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Pension Service raised its position in Accenture by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,564,857 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $194,731,000 after purchasing an additional 82,362 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its position in shares of Accenture by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 15,708 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,955,000 after buying an additional 781 shares in the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 26.7% during the second quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,071 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $755,000 after buying an additional 1,278 shares during the period. C WorldWide Group Holding A S raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 43.9% in the second quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S now owns 6,777 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $843,000 after acquiring an additional 2,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Accenture by 19.8% in the second quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 2,713 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Argus reduced their price target on Accenture from $335.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Accenture from $280.00 to $226.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $230.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Evercore set a $180.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $253.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $194.19.

Accenture Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of Accenture stock traded up $5.88 on Friday, reaching $183.79. 2,886,781 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,943,854. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $118.15 and a fifty-two week high of $291.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $165.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $175.44.

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 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 the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.49 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.86 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend 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%.

Accenture declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding 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 typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 17,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. The trade was a 37.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

About Accenture

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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