Davis Asset Management L.P. Invests $92.09 Million in Accenture PLC $ACN

Davis Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 740,000 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $92,086,000. Accenture comprises about 2.3% of Davis Asset Management L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Davis Asset Management L.P. owned about 0.11% of Accenture as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Accenture during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Accenture by 147.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 215 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new stake in Accenture in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on ACN. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $225.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 22nd. William Blair cut shares of Accenture from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Accenture from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a report on Friday, June 19th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Accenture has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $192.96.

Accenture Stock Up 2.0%

NYSE:ACN opened at $185.04 on Friday. 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. The company has a 50-day moving average of $151.90 and a 200 day moving average of $180.36. The firm has a market cap of $123.57 billion, a PE ratio of 14.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.09.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted 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. 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 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 generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Accenture’s payout ratio is 52.08%.

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.