Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Acquired by Fulton Bank N.A.

Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 50.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,604 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,217 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $1,942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ACN. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Accenture by 147.1% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new stake in Accenture during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Accenture in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ACN shares. TD Cowen cut shares of Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $258.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Accenture from $253.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $136.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Accenture from $200.00 to $194.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 target price on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $192.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Accenture Stock Performance

ACN stock opened at $179.98 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $151.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.08. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $118.15 and a 12-month high of $291.09. The firm has a market cap of $120.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.09. 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 (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 19th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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 management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Accenture

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.