Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC Has $2.42 Million Stock Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 72.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,455 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,169 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $2,421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,146,995,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Accenture by 120.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,899,305 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Accenture in the third quarter valued at approximately $311,694,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 15.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,122,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 84.0% during the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,405,683 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $477,023,000 after acquiring an additional 1,097,961 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Trading Up 2.6%

NYSE ACN opened at $175.49 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.02, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $187.15. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $118.15 and a 12 month high of $291.09. 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 quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Accenture’s payout ratio is 52.08%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. William Blair cut Accenture from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Accenture from $225.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Accenture from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $210.00 to $185.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 15th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $192.96.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 17,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. This trade represents a 37.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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.

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.