Madison Asset Management LLC Makes New $4.51 Million Investment in Accenture PLC $ACN

Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 36,225 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,508,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Accenture during the third quarter worth $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 147.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 215 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. McMillan Office Inc. bought a new position in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Accenture in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Accenture Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE ACN opened at $181.58 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $118.15 and a twelve month high of $291.09. The stock has a market cap of $121.26 billion, a PE ratio of 14.50, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.33. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 19th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion during 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%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

Accenture declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program 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 buy up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $186.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Accenture from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $200.00 to $194.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $136.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research report on Friday, July 10th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $192.96.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 17,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. This trade represents a 37.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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.

About Accenture

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.