Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Accenture PLC $ACN

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 64.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,667 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 106,176 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $7,176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 12,316.0% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 116,033,331 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $14,439,188,000 after acquiring an additional 115,098,783 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Accenture during the 4th quarter worth about $2,146,995,000. Flossbach Von Storch SE acquired a new stake in Accenture in the 2nd quarter valued at about $309,873,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Accenture by 120.0% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,482,150 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $690,475,000 after buying an additional 1,899,305 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the third quarter worth about $311,694,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $183.79 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.50. Accenture PLC has a twelve month low of $118.15 and a twelve 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. The company has a market capitalization of $122.74 billion, a PE ratio of 14.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.10.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Accenture’s payout ratio is 52.08%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ACN shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $200.00 to $194.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $280.00 to $226.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on Accenture from $180.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $194.19.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the general counsel directly owned 17,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. The trade was a 37.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Profile

Accenture plc is a global professional services company that helps organizations improve business performance through consulting, technology, and managed services. Its offerings include strategy and consulting, technology implementation, operations support, and business process services.

The company provides digital transformation services involving cloud computing, artificial intelligence, data and analytics, cybersecurity, systems integration, and enterprise software. Through its Song and Industry X businesses, Accenture also supports customer experience, marketing, product engineering, and smart manufacturing initiatives.

Accenture serves clients across a broad range of industries, including financial services, health care, public service, communications, media and technology, consumer goods, retail, resources, and industrial markets.