Freedom Day Solutions LLC Buys 85 Shares of Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN)

Freedom Day Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) by 0.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,572 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after buying an additional 85 shares during the quarter. Accenture comprises about 1.1% of Freedom Day Solutions LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Freedom Day Solutions LLC’s holdings in Accenture were worth $3,383,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Accenture in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 507.7% in the first quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 79 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the second quarter valued at $28,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Accenture in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Accenture by 607.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 99 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 4,750 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.97, for a total transaction of $1,757,357.50. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 22,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,500,430.72. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 4,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.97, for a total value of $1,757,357.50. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 22,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,500,430.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 458 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $373.25, for a total value of $170,948.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,649,265.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 24,971 shares of company stock valued at $9,330,113. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of ACN opened at $364.20 on Friday. Accenture plc has a 1 year low of $278.69 and a 1 year high of $387.51. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $348.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $322.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $228.24 billion, a PE ratio of 33.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.25.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The information technology services provider reported $2.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.01. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.83% and a net margin of 11.20%. The company had revenue of $16.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.71 earnings per share. Accenture’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Accenture plc will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 26th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology services provider to buy up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $1.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. This is a boost from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Accenture’s payout ratio is 54.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ACN shares. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Accenture from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Piper Sandler Companies restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $329.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Accenture from $350.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. TD Cowen upgraded Accenture from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $321.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Accenture from $350.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $371.18.

Accenture Company Profile

Accenture plc, a professional services company, provides strategy and consulting, industry X, song, and technology and operation services worldwide. The company offers application services, including agile transformation, DevOps, application modernization, enterprise architecture, software and quality engineering, data management; intelligent automation comprising robotic process automation, natural language processing, and virtual agents; and application management services, as well as software engineering services; strategy and consulting services; data and analytics strategy, data discovery and augmentation, data management and beyond, data democratization, and industrialized solutions comprising turnkey analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions; metaverse; and sustainability services.