NEOS Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 100,045 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,671 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $12,450,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Accenture during the fourth quarter worth about $2,146,995,000. Flossbach Von Storch SE bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 2nd quarter valued at about $309,873,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 120.0% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,482,150 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $690,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899,305 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Accenture in the third quarter worth approximately $311,694,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Accenture by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,173,338 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,192,907,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122,855 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of ACN opened at $186.53 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 cap of $124.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.90, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $161.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.85. 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 issued its earnings results on Friday, June 19th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, June 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding 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 programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In related news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total transaction of $1,710,964.04. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Accenture from $253.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $225.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $136.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Berenberg Bank dropped their price target on Accenture from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Accenture currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $194.19.

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.