Shellback Capital LP Takes Position in Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN)

Shellback Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 60,000 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $18,205,000. Accenture comprises about 1.3% of Shellback Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 357 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. IronBridge Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Accenture by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. IronBridge Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,235 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Accenture by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,888 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,740 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,120,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Paces Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 10.2% in the first quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 346 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $120,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Accenture Stock Performance

ACN opened at $355.81 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $333.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $321.39. Accenture plc has a 52-week low of $278.69 and a 52-week high of $387.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $222.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.24.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $1.48 dividend. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Accenture’s payout ratio is 47.25%.

Accenture declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to purchase up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ACN shares. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Accenture from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $382.00 to $300.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Accenture from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. Piper Sandler upgraded Accenture from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $329.00 to $395.00 in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Accenture in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $335.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $395.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $359.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other news, CFO Kathleen R. Mcclure sold 3,000 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.22, for a total transaction of $927,660.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 40,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,390,445.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Kathleen R. Mcclure sold 3,000 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.22, for a total transaction of $927,660.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,390,445.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kathleen R. Mcclure sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $472,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,149,550. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,421 shares of company stock worth $6,912,635 in the last three months. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.