Trust Co. of Vermont Invests $5 Million in Accenture PLC $ACN

Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 40,149 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,996,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Accenture in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 147.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 215 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. McMillan Office Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 17,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. The trade was a 37.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Down 3.8%

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $170.23 on Tuesday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $151.07 and a 200-day moving average of $182.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.60, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.09. Accenture PLC has a 12 month low of $118.15 and a 12 month high of $291.09.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, June 19th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share 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 business 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 earnings per share. Accenture’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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 issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Accenture from $186.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 price target on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Argus decreased their price objective on Accenture from $335.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $177.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $192.96.

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.