Corient Private Wealth LP Decreases Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Corient Private Wealth LP lessened its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 28.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 666,070 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 259,426 shares during the quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP’s holdings in Accenture were worth $82,898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ACN. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Accenture in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. McMillan Office Inc. acquired a new stake in Accenture during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Accenture during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Accenture by 134.8% during the 1st quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the firm’s 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research report on Friday, June 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $136.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a report on Friday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 target price on Accenture in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $177.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut their target price on Accenture from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $194.19.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of ACN opened at $183.79 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $166.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $175.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.74 billion, a PE ratio of 14.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.10. 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 1-year low of $118.15 and a 1-year high of $291.09.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its 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. 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 firm’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.49 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.86 EPS for the current year.

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology services provider to buy up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

Accenture Company 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.