Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $211.06 and last traded at $215.4020, with a volume of 413806 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $223.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Accenture to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on Accenture from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $300.00 price objective on Accenture in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.38.

Accenture Stock Down 5.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $263.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $253.87.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $18.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.51 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 26.65%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.59 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. Analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.38, for a total value of $1,101,650.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 27,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,523,339.98. This represents a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $366,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 28,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,756,925. This trade represents a 4.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Accenture

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new position in Accenture in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,637,640,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Accenture in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,146,995,000. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Accenture by 41.1% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,128,134 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,223,839,000 after buying an additional 4,984,930 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 2.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,129,782 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $19,466,641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315,548 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $311,694,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Company Profile

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.