Quantitative Investment Management LLC Purchases 22,746 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Quantitative Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 217.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,216 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 22,746 shares during the period. Quantitative Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $4,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ACN. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Accenture by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,264,675 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $7,583,462,000 after purchasing an additional 129,610 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Accenture by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,471,554 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,687,867,000 after purchasing an additional 343,420 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Accenture by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,656,436 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $3,922,212,000 after purchasing an additional 218,719 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 1,122,855 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,146,995,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Oppenheimer set a $201.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Berenberg Bank cut their price objective on shares of Accenture from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on Accenture from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Accenture currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $194.19.

Accenture Stock Performance

ACN opened at $189.58 on Monday. Accenture PLC has a 1-year low of $118.15 and a 1-year high of $291.09. 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. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $155.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, June 19th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.10. Accenture had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The company had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business 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 of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is 52.08%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the general counsel owned 17,735 shares in the company, valued at $2,890,450.30. This trade represents a 37.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.