Chesapeake Wealth Management Cuts Position in Accenture PLC $ACN

Chesapeake Wealth Management decreased its position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 44.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,554 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 2,862 shares during the quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management’s holdings in Accenture were worth $442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. 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 purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new position in Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Accenture by 134.8% during the 1st quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total transaction of $1,710,964.04. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 17,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,890,450.30. This trade represents a 37.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of ACN opened at $188.08 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $158.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.25. The firm has a market cap of $125.60 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 19th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. Accenture’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.86 EPS for the current year.

Accenture announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on Accenture from $180.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Berenberg Bank reduced their price objective on shares of Accenture from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Accenture from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $253.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $194.19.

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.