Accenture PLC $ACN Shares Acquired by Birch Capital Management LLC

Birch Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 39.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 34,920 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,915 shares during the period. Accenture comprises 2.1% of Birch Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Birch Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $4,345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Accenture by 147.1% during the second quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 215 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. McMillan Office Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Accenture from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Argus decreased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $335.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Accenture from $151.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Accenture from $247.00 to $201.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 8th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $194.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 $188.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $158.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.25. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $118.15 and a 52 week high of $291.09. The stock has a market cap of $125.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34.

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, 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 company had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid 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 was Thursday, July 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is 52.08%.

Accenture declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 buy up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.