Accenture in Italy has entered into an agreement to acquire Turin-based boutique systems integrator PLM Systems.

One of the many lawsuits that the Trump Organization and members of the Trump family have faced allegations that they engaged in an illegal pyramid scheme. Attorneys for the company have tried to get the class action lawsuit placed on hold, but Judge Lorna G.…

Accenture was awarded a task order to help the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs provide IT and mission service experiences.

Accenture acquired NIKE Group, an Italian consulting firm that provides regulatory technology services to financial services firms.

Warren Buffett famously said, 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' So it seems the smart money knows that...

A polymerization‐assisted grain growth strategy in the sequential deposition method of perovskite thin films is demonstrated by triggering a polymerization process during PbI2 film annealing. This strategy effectively passivates undercoordinated lead ions, re…

Many technology solutions have been crafted, governance models have been worked on; in many fora, Digital Identity Foundation, Hyperledger, and W3C. Now they have come together with some of the largest enterprises like Accenture, Mastercard, and IBM in t…

COVID-19's impact has been crippling, but something positive may come from the pandemic. Billionaire Ray Dalio said in a live LinkedIn interview that in terms of the broader historical context, the recent economic downturn should be “relatively brief," and co…

We hate to say this but, we told you so. On February 27th we published an article with the title Recession is Imminent: We Need A Travel Ban NOW and predicted a US recession when the S&P 500 Index was trading at the 3150 level. We also told you to short the m…

A federal judge on Monday allowed a federal lawsuit accusing President Donald Trump, his three eldest children and his company of collaborating with a fraudulent marketing scheme to prey on investors to proceed, denying the Trumps' request for a stay.

Before we spend countless hours researching a company, we like to analyze what insiders, hedge funds and billionaire investors think of the stock first. This is a necessary first step in our investment process because our research has shown that the elite inv…

AtomX SYNC is compatible with iOS apps, plus existing Timecode Systems devices. Atomos has started shipping its AtomX SYNC module which adds wireless timecode, sync, and control to the Ninja V. The accessory is ideal for multi-cam productions, especially fo…

Aoris Investment Management recently released its Q1 2020 Investor Letter, a copy of which you can download below. The Aoris International Fund aims to generate returns of 8–12% p.a. over a market cycle. The portfolio is long-only and highly selective. You should check out Aoris Investment Management’s top 5 stock picks for investors to buy right […]

Accenture acquired Byte Prophecy, an automated insights and big data analytics company based in Ahmedabad, India.

Accenture positioned as a leader in digital transformation for oil and gas companies in EMEA in the latest IDC MarketScape report.

The global pandemic has created a unique opportunity for banks to close the innovation gap with fintechs, as many have accelerated their digital strategies to meet customer needs. The banking industry shouldn't let this opportunity pass.

Accenture, Intel and the Sulubaaï Environmental Foundation will use AI to monitor, characterize and analyze coral reef resiliency.

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- These days, someone proposing a remote meeting or virtual happy hour is very likely to say, “Let’s Zoom.” While the coronavirus-induced lockdown has made Zoom Video Communications Inc. synonymous with video calls, it has also created a broader market, and whet investor appetite for stocks well placed to profit from the move to working from home. Pexip Holding ASA has satisfied some of that demand with Europe’s biggest technology initial public offering this year. The Thursday listing valued the Oslo-based company at some 9 billion Norwegian krone ($880 million) – not shabby for a business with just 370 million krone in revenue last year.The company is trading at a discount to its bigger, better-known competitor. If Pexip grows at the same pace for the rest of this year as it did in the first quarter, and profitability is consistent with previous years, then the listing gives it an enterprise value of more than 70 times forward Ebitda (a measure of a company's operating performance). Zoom is considerably pricier, with a valuation on the same basis of more than 370 times.If this were primarily a classic consumer-facing market, then investors would have to weigh up the prospect of a winner-takes-all battle. After all, that’s how things have tended to pan out for online services: Alphabet Inc.’s Google took search, Facebook Inc. dominates social media, Microsoft Corp.’s LinkedIn has professional contacts and so on. And Zoom has already entered the lexicon as a verb in much the same way as google or tweet.But the video-conferencing business model differs from those advertising-driven offerings: Most of the money is to be made from companies paying for premium services. Chief technology officers care less about what’s in vogue than about the best solution for their needs from both a technical and cost perspective. So while Pexip’s valuation is still punchy, there is room for multiple players. Concentrating on a business-to-business solution is far more likely to build a sustainable concern built on rational purchases — Pexip already boasts customers such as Vodafone Group Plc, General Electric Co. and Accenture Plc and annual recurring revenue from multi-year contracts jumped 50% in the first quarter. With 1.1 billion krone in IPO proceeds, it now has capital to accelerate that pace of growth.There’s significant demand to capitalize on the work-from-home trend. Shares in TeamViewer AG, a German maker of software that facilitates remote working, have climbed 33% this year, while the benchmark DAX Index has fallen 22%. Even at enterprise software giant SAP SE, Chief Executive Officer Christian Klein told Bloomberg News this week he’d love to have a video-conferencing solution in the company’s portfolio right now.Pexip must do a lot to justify its valuation, which prices in a huge increase in earnings over the next few years. It may be telling that many of its investors are using the offering as an opportunity to sell their stakes: The company will have a free float of some 80% of the share capital. Perhaps they’re sensing an opportunity to make hay while the sun shines. But if work from home is here to stay, then there will likely be plenty of seats around the (dining room) table.This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Alex Webb is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Europe's technology, media and communications industries. He previously covered Apple and other technology companies for Bloomberg News in San Francisco.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

Aoris Investment Management recently released its Q1 2020 Investor Letter, a copy of which you can download below. The Aoris International Fund aims to generate returns of 8–12% p.a. over a market cycle. The portfolio is long-only and highly selective. You sh…

Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") has completed a periodic review of the ratings of Accenture plc and other ratings that are associated with the same analytical unit. The review was conducted through a portfolio review in which Moody's reassessed the appropriateness of the ratings in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers.

According to a report published in Newsweek this Tuesday, a federal judge ruled that a lawsuit alleging President Trump engaged in fraud by promoting a pyramid scheme will be allowed to move forward. “District Judge Lorna G. Schofield ruled that the class act…

President Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and The Trump Organization were dealt a blow Monday when a federal court judge refused to put a class action lawsuit against the family and the family business on hold. Calling it an “Ugly Py…

Accenture has been positioning to strengthen its cybersecurity capabilities given that its service-based business model means it doesn't create products that expose it to customer-generated content. The sum of its acquisitions will give Accenture the …

Vienna government issues business licenses, lauds anniversaries | Business  Inside NoVA

A polymerization‐assisted grain growth strategy in the sequential deposition method of perovskite thin films is demonstrated by triggering a polymerization process during PbI2 film annealing. This strategy effectively passivates undercoordinated lead ions, re…

When Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) announced its most recent earnings (29 February 2020), I compared it against two factor...

Accenture has been named the Technology Advisory House of the Year by Energy Risk magazine.

We hate to say this but, we told you so. On February 27th we published an article with the title Recession is Imminent: We Need A Travel Ban NOW and predicted a US recession when the S&P 500 Index was trading at the 3150 level. We also told you to short the market and buy […]

Acquisitions have been one of the key growth strategies for Accenture.

Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") assigned a P-1 short-term rating to Accenture Global Capital DAC's $1.0 billion commercial paper program. Moody's also affirmed Accenture plc's ("Accenture") Aa3 long-term issuer rating.

A weekly summary of dividend activity for Dividend Champions and Contenders.Companies which declared increased dividends.Companies with upcoming ex-dividend dates.Companies with upcoming pay dates.

We hate to say this but, we told you so. On February 27th we published an article with the title Recession is Imminent: We Need A Travel Ban NOW and predicted a US recession when the S&P 500 Index was trading at the 3150 level. We also told you to short the m…

During the quarter, revenue growth was strongly driven by digital business. Life Sciences vertical came in the strongest with 11.9% Y/Y revenue growth. There were margin pressures during the quarter and we see them continuing throughout 2020.

NEW YORK and TORONTO , May 5, 2020 /CNW/ - Accenture (ACN) has acquired Callisto Integration ("Callisto"), a Canada -based provider of consulting and technology services. The company provides digital manufacturing services to large companies in the food and beverage, chemicals, utilities and other industries. The acquisition expands Accenture's capabilities to help clients in North America ensure the timely production of orders, increase their yield and enhance the quality of their products.

The consultancy and outsourcing company's shift to growth technologies is materializing, but the potential for higher margins remains limited.

COVID-19 Increasing consumers’ focus on ethical consumption, says Accenture.

Utility executives say rising severe weather threatens grid operations and increases need for resilience, says Accenture.

Top technology services firms are offering payment deferrals, discounts of up to 20% and other sweeteners to some U.S. banks to keep their business as the pandemic forces Wall Street to cut tech budgets, according to executives involved in the talks. Large Wall Street banks are widely expected to reduce overall budgets and discretionary tech spending, which includes areas such as technology consulting services, business analytics, research and design and process management projects.

Accenture acquired Kates Kesler.

COVID-19's impact has been crippling, but something positive may come from the pandemic. Billionaire Ray Dalio said in a live LinkedIn interview that in terms of the broader historical context, the recent economic downturn should be “relatively brief," and could spur significant societal progress. This would include a worldwide “restructuring” lasting approximately three to five years.“I know that’s a long time, but it’s not forever. The human capacity to adapt and invent and come out of this is much greater,” Dalio commented. He added, “I think we should be very excited about the new future. We’re now in a wonderful revolution in terms of the capacity to think and use that in a way. I would say that is absolutely the most treasured thing in the future.”Still making sure to account for the unknowns, Dalio has been diversifying his investments across geographic locations, asset class and currencies throughout the ongoing public health crisis. Looking to Dalio for investing inspiration, we used TipRanks’ database to find out if three stocks the billionaire recently added to the fund represent compelling plays. According to the platform, the analyst community believes they do, with all of the picks earning “Strong Buy” consensus ratings. Let’s jump right in.Philip Morris International (PM)Cigarette and tobacco manufacturing company Philip Morris has become known as a “sin stock." However, regardless of its product portfolio, Dalio sees plenty of upside in store.Recently, the billionaire’s fund acquired a new position in PM, snapping up 67,447 shares. The value of this new addition? More than $4.9 million.Turning now to the analysts, the stock boasts a strong fan base, which includes Piper Sandler’s Michael Lavery. He doesn’t dispute the fact that there are some headwinds facing the company. “PM expects near-term iQOS new user acquisition to be about 50% lower than it originally planned due to social distancing measures that have shut iQOS stores and made it harder to engage with consumers,” Lavery stated.That being said, the company has already surpassed Lavery’s expectations, which were cut to near-zero. The analyst even says that if PM can maintain the pace of its customer acquisition, there could be upside to his estimates. The analyst added, “We expect HeatStick volume growth of 20% in 2020E (1Q20: +45%) and believe 90-100 billion sticks in 2021 is still achievable.”While lower duty-free volumes and down-trading in Indonesia could take a toll on second quarter EPS, Lavery remains optimistic. “We remain bullish on PM's strong long-term outlook, and we expect nicotine demand to remain resilient near-term (particularly in times of personal stress),” he explained.It should also be noted that PM has had to grapple with patent infringement claims from British American Tobacco (BAT) and a transactional currency hit. Speaking to the first issue, Lavery said, “We reviewed BAT's six patents named in its U.S. complaint, and it is difficult to handicap an outcome, but a third-party reviewer of patents generally did not give BAT's relevant ones here very high marks.”As for the latter, Lavery points out that about $100 million of the currency hit in the first quarter of 2020 was driven by the revaluation of euro or dollar denominated payables in markets like Russia, but he doesn’t foresee another event of this magnitude happening again.Based on all of the above, Lavery kept an Overweight rating on the stock. He did reduce the price target from $98 to $95, but this still implies shares could climb 40% higher in the next year. (To watch Lavery’s track record, click here) Judging by the consensus breakdown, other analysts are in agreement. 7 Buys and 2 Holds add up to a Strong Buy consensus rating. In addition, the $83.56 average price target brings the upside potential to 23%. (See Philip Morris stock analysis on TipRanks)UnitedHealth Group (UNH)Hoping to help people live healthier lives and make the healthcare system work more efficiently, UnitedHealth Group offers a wide range of healthcare products and insurance services. While the late-March acceleration of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a somewhat lackluster quarter, Dalio believes the company’s future is bright.To this end, Bridgewater went in on UNH. In a purchase valued at $5,481,000, Dalio’s hedge fund scooped up 21,977 shares.Five-star analyst Michael Wiederhorn agrees that UNH is moving on to bigger and better things, noting that its Q1 performance was relatively solid. “Overall, UNH produced strong results and seems well-positioned to navigate the COVID pandemic due to a relatively stable top-line, a diversified business mix and a dominant position across its businesses.”Wiederhorn tells investors that management thinks the slowdown in non-COVID-irelated utilization, which was driven by highly constrained elective care and will be offset by the late-year pent-up utilization, will have a significant impact on MCR in the second quarter. As a result, despite some uncertainty surrounding COVID-19's impact, UNH maintained its full year 2020 EPS guidance of $16.25-$16.55.Adding to the good news, Wiederhorn argues that its Optum segment has a strong standing within the market. Expounding on this, he noted, “Trends at Optum remained solid, and management did note that even OptumHealth should be positioned to hold up relatively well due to its reliance on risk-based contracts, accounting for two thirds of revenues. Both OptumRx and OptumInsight have strong pipelines (though the timing of meetings was disrupted) with the latter of particular interest as companies look to improve the economics and delivery of healthcare.”Even though commercial enrollment could be hampered by elevated levels of unemployment, higher Medicaid should partially offset this. Additionally, UNH is in the early stages of pricing and benefit design for 2021, with its plans possibly including pricing for COVID-19 testing and a potential vaccine.Bearing this in mind, Wiederhorn maintained an Outperform call and $343 price target. Should this target be met, a twelve-month gain of 18% could be in the cards. (To watch Wiederhorn’s track record, click here)Turning now to the rest of the Street, other analysts also like what they’re seeing. With 12 Buys and 2 Holds, the word on the Street is that UNH is a Strong Buy. At $326.23, the average price target indicates 12% upside potential. (See UnitedHealth stock analysis on TipRanks)Accenture PLC (ACN)Dalio’s third recent addition, Accenture, provides management and technology consulting services and solutions to help its clients, which inhabit almost every industry, create lasting value. With the company relying on a new strategy, Dalio thinks it has set itself up for success.Not wanting to miss out on a compelling opportunity, Bridgewater pulled the trigger on 27,763 shares, giving it a new position in ACN. Looking at the value of the new holding, it comes in at more than $4.5 million.When it comes to the analysts, they are also singing the company’s praises. Writing for BNP Paribas, analyst Ben Castillo-Bernaus argues that COVID-19's disruption has presented investors with an opportunity to buy a “high-quality” IT service company, with ACN trading well below historical five-year average EBIT multiples.“Accenture remains ‘best in class’ and the recent weakness is an opportunity to gain a position in this IT Services global leader delivering 40% returns on capital,” Castillo-Bernaus stated. He added, “Accenture has been a pioneer in developing ‘the New’ with 65% of revenues now coming from high growth Digital, Cloud and Security services.”As for what makes the company so successful and allows it to continuously take market share, Castillo-Bernaus points to its investments in new technologies and growth areas. To back up this conclusion, the analyst cites its EUR1 billion investment in training each year and EUR800 million investment in R&D all while delivering margin improvements every year. On top of this, ACN conducts smaller-scale M&A, with it working alongside the companies before an acquisition to limit any potential deal failures.Castillo-Bernaus also noted, “We believe Accenture has customers that spend more than $100 million annually, with 98% of Accenture’s top 100 clients having been clients for more than five years. These ‘sticky’ relationships help Accenture maintain high margins and high returns as Accenture has a high number of ‘sole source’ wins where it does not even see competition in RFPs.”That being said, the company has started using a new approach. It will now organize itself by Strategy & Consulting, Interactive, Technology and Operations instead of by verticals, and the results will be reported geographically for these segments. “We believe it is too early to tell what kind of impact these changes will have, but Accenture has a positive track record of occasionally tweaking its growth strategy in order to best deliver on the opportunities ahead,” Castillo-Bernaus commented.It should come as no surprise, then, that Castillo-Bernaus joined the bulls. Along with an Outperform rating, he initiated coverage by setting a $215 price target. This target conveys the analyst’s confidence in ACN's ability to surge 17% in the next twelve months.In general, other Wall Street analysts have also been impressed. ACN’s Strong Buy consensus rating breaks down into 13 Buys and 2 Holds assigned in the last three months. However, the $195.29 average price target suggests modest upside potential of 6%. (See Accenture stock analysis on TipRanks)To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.