Nilsine Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Accenture PLC $ACN

Nilsine Partners LLC boosted its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 177.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,466 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,819 shares during the period. Nilsine Partners LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $2,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ACN. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Accenture by 147.1% in the second quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 215 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. McMillan Office Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 134.8% in the first 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of ACN opened at $186.53 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $161.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.52. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $118.15 and a fifty-two week high of $291.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.57 billion, a PE ratio of 14.90, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.10.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 19th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. Accenture’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock 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. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is 52.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture 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 completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 17,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed 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 insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $280.00 to $226.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Evercore set a $180.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. William Blair lowered Accenture from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Accenture from $186.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $194.19.

Accenture 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.