In this article, we discuss the top 5 stock picks of Citadel’s Wellington Fund. If you want to see more top holdings of the fund, check out Citadel’s Wellington Fund Returned 17.5% This Year, Here are its Top 10 Stock Picks.
5. Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN)
Citadel Investment Group’s Stake Value: $465,443,000
Percentage of Citadel Investment Group’s 13F Portfolio: 0.09%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 63
Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) is an Irish-American company that is engaged in professional services, information technology, and business consulting. Ken Griffin’s hedge fund boosted its position in Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) by 629% in Q1 2022, holding 1.38 million shares worth $465.4 million, representing 0.09% of the total 13F portfolio.
On June 23, Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) reported its Q2 results, posting earnings per share of $2.90 and a revenue of $16.16 billion, above market consensus by $0.04 and $111.40 million, respectively. Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) also declared a $0.97 per share quarterly dividend. The dividend is payable on August 15, to shareholders of record as of July 14.
Barclays analyst Ramsey El-Assal on June 25 reiterated an Overweight rating on Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) and lowered the price target on the stock to $370 from $455 after the fiscal Q3 results. The analyst slashed Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN)’s valuation multiple, noting that market multiples for firms in the IT Services sector have shrunk significantly. On June 29, Exane BNP Paribas analyst Stefan Slowinski downgraded the stock to Neutral from Outperform with a $320 price target.
According to Insider Monkey’s Q1 data, 63 hedge funds were bullish on Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN), up from 50 funds in the prior quarter. Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke, and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital is one of the leading shareholders of the company, with 1.7 million shares valued at $578.3 million.
Here is what Polen Global Growth Fund has to say about Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) in its Q1 2022 investor letter:
“Accenture’s business is firing on all cylinders and continues to enjoy an acceleration in their respective fundamentals because of the increase in digitization around the world. Nearly every company today is searching for ways to become more digital, and Accenture is positioned to provide many of the solutions these companies seek. This inflection in fundamentals was not lost on the market, and each business’s stock performed exceptionally well in 2021. In fact, they represented two of the three top absolute performers for the Global Growth Portfolio last year. As a result, its stock is currently more fully priced. As such, we lowered Accenture to an average weight. We maintain high conviction in the business and plan to own it for many years, but recognize the increase in their prices.”
