VELA Investment Management LLC Cuts Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Key Points

• VELA Investment Management reduced its Accenture position by 32.4% in the second quarter, selling 8,757 shares and retaining 18,276 shares valued at approximately $2.27 million. Institutional investors collectively own 75.14% of Accenture.
• Accenture exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $3.80 EPS versus the $3.70 consensus, while revenue rose 5.6% year over year to $18.72 billion. The company also authorized a $2 billion share buyback and pays a $6.52 annualized dividend, yielding about 3.5%.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with 12 Buy, 14 Hold and 1 Sell rating; the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $194.19. Accenture’s general counsel also sold 10,498 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.

VELA Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Free Report) by 32.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,276 shares of the information technology services provider's stock after selling 8,757 shares during the quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC's holdings in Accenture were worth $2,274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Accenture during the third quarter worth $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Accenture by 147.1% in the second quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 215 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Accenture by 134.8% in the 1st quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In related news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 17,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,890,450.30. This represents a 37.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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.

Accenture Trading Down 0.1%

ACN opened at $186.53 on Tuesday. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $118.15 and a 52 week high of $291.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $163.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.29. The firm has a market cap of $124.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.10.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 19th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion during 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.49 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock 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 purchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are 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 given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. Accenture's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Accenture from $177.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a report on Friday, June 19th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on shares of Accenture from $180.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Accenture from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture has an average 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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