Czech National Bank Increases Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 174,751 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,175 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Accenture were worth $21,746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Accenture in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. McMillan Office Inc. bought a new stake in Accenture in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Accenture during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in Accenture by 96.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 108 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Accenture from $210.00 to $185.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 price objective on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on Accenture from $180.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Accenture from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Accenture from $247.00 to $201.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $192.96.

Accenture Trading Up 2.6%

ACN opened at $175.49 on Friday. 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 50 day moving average price is $151.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.15. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $118.15 and a one year high of $291.09. The stock has a market cap of $117.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.09.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 19th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $18.78 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. Accenture’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current year.

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 purchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. Accenture’s payout ratio is 52.08%.

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.