Eldred Rock Partners LLC Has $6.98 Million Stock Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Eldred Rock Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 7.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 56,080 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,752 shares during the quarter. Accenture comprises 1.5% of Eldred Rock Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Eldred Rock Partners LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $6,979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Community Trust & Investment Co. grew its position in shares of Accenture by 25.3% during the 2nd quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 20,072 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,498,000 after buying an additional 4,051 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 166.7% during the 2nd quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 1,600 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $199,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 81.6% during the 2nd quarter. Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC now owns 3,606 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Accenture by 4.3% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 174,751 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $21,746,000 after acquiring an additional 7,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Accenture by 7.6% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 40,916 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $5,092,000 after purchasing an additional 2,896 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Accenture Trading Up 2.6%

ACN opened at $175.49 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $118.15 and a fifty-two week high of $291.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company’s 50-day moving average is $151.64 and its 200 day moving average is $187.15.

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 return on equity of 26.47% and a net margin of 10.66%.The business had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.08%.

Accenture announced that its board has approved 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 reacquire up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim dropped their price objective 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. HSBC decreased their target price on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 price target on Accenture in a report on Thursday, June 18th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on Accenture from $180.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on Accenture from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Twelve 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $192.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of Accenture 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 transaction, the general counsel directly owned 17,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,890,450.30. The trade was a 37.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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.