VELA Investment Management LLC Has $2.27 Million Stake in Accenture PLC $ACN

VELA Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 32.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,276 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 8,757 shares during the period. VELA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $2,274,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ACN. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Accenture by 36.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $6,486,000 after acquiring an additional 4,905 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Accenture by 46.9% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $618,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. United Bank raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 49.8% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in Accenture by 23.0% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 828 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Accenture by 4.2% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $528,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In related news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the company’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 transaction, the general counsel owned 17,735 shares in the company, valued at $2,890,450.30. This represents a 37.18% decrease in their position. The sale 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. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of Accenture stock opened at $186.53 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $161.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.52. 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 PLC has a 1-year low of $118.15 and a 1-year high of $291.09.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, June 19th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.47% and a net margin of 10.66%.Accenture’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan 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 repurchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders 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 currently 52.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Accenture from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Accenture from $135.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Accenture from $151.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Berenberg Bank lowered their price objective on Accenture from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Twelve 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Accenture has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $194.19.

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.