HF Advisory Group LLC Invests $561,000 in Accenture PLC $ACN

HF Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,511 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $561,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ACN. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of ACN opened at $175.49 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $151.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $186.45. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $118.15 and a 12-month high of $291.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $117.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.09.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology services provider to purchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the business’s 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. William Blair downgraded shares of Accenture from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Accenture from $253.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $247.00 to $201.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, HSBC reduced their target price on shares of Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Accenture has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $192.96.

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.