Bright Rock Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 60,000 Accenture PLC $ACN

Bright Rock Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 60,000 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,466,000. Accenture makes up approximately 1.5% of Bright Rock Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new position in Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Accenture by 96.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Accenture Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of ACN stock opened at $175.49 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $151.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $187.15. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $118.15 and a 12-month high of $291.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current 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 1.77 and a beta of 1.09.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 19th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.47% and a net margin of 10.66%.Accenture’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Accenture Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other 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 value of $1,710,964.04. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Accenture from $177.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut Accenture from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Accenture from $253.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial lowered 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. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.