Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) Receives $194.19 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACNGet Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have given a hold recommendation and twelve have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $194.1852.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Accenture from $200.00 to $194.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 20th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Accenture from $151.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Accenture from $225.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Accenture from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Accenture from $275.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Accenture

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In related news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total value of $1,710,964.04. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 17,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. This trade represents a 37.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ACN. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Accenture by 36.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $6,486,000 after acquiring an additional 4,905 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Accenture by 46.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $618,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. United Bank increased its stake in Accenture by 49.8% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 23.0% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 828 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Accenture by 4.2% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Price Performance

Accenture stock opened at $193.19 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $160.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.79. Accenture has a 12-month low of $118.15 and a 12-month high of $291.09. The stock has a market cap of $129.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.43, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.10.

Accenture (NYSE:ACNGet Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, June 19th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. Accenture’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Accenture will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. Accenture’s payout ratio is 52.08%.

Accenture declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, June 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Accenture

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Analyst Recommendations for Accenture (NYSE:ACN)

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