Eldred Rock Partners LLC Acquires 3,752 Shares of Accenture PLC $ACN

Eldred Rock Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,080 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,752 shares during the quarter. Accenture accounts for approximately 1.5% of Eldred Rock Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Eldred Rock Partners LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $6,979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 147.1% during the second 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 during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Accenture Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $175.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $117.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.09. Accenture PLC has a 12-month low of $118.15 and a 12-month high of $291.09. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $187.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.47% and a net margin of 10.66%.The business’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.49 EPS. 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 share buyback plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology services provider to buy 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.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.08%.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ACN. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Berenberg Bank reduced their price target on Accenture from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. William Blair downgraded Accenture from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $180.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 26th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $192.96.

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.