Headlands Technologies LLC Increases Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 118.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,556 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,251 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $2,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ACN. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Accenture during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Accenture during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its position 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. McMillan Office Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $189.58 on Monday. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $118.15 and a fifty-two week 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $155.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.90. The company has a market cap of $126.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.14, a PEG ratio of 1.96 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. Accenture had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors 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 3.4%. Accenture’s payout ratio is 52.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,890,450.30. This represents a 37.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on ACN. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $210.00 to $185.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings cut Accenture from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut 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, Argus reduced their price objective on Accenture from $335.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $194.19.

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.