Flossbach Von Storch SE Takes Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Flossbach Von Storch SE bought a new position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,490,138 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $309,873,000. Accenture makes up 1.4% of Flossbach Von Storch SE’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Flossbach Von Storch SE owned 0.37% of Accenture at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,922,000. Foster & Motley Inc. bought a new position in Accenture in the second quarter worth $2,628,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI acquired a new stake in Accenture during the second quarter worth $11,183,000. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new stake in Accenture in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,996,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,626,000. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Accenture from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $186.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Accenture from $247.00 to $201.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Accenture from $177.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Dbs Bank lowered Accenture from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $192.96.

Accenture Stock Up 6.1%

NYSE:ACN opened at $183.52 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $122.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $151.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $180.90. Accenture PLC has a 52-week low of $118.15 and a 52-week high of $291.09.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.10. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.47% and a net margin of 10.66%.The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

Accenture declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 23rd that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a 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. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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.