Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) had its price target lifted by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $175.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the information technology services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential downside of 7.44% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Accenture from $186.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. DA Davidson dropped 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. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Accenture from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Oppenheimer set a $201.00 price objective on Accenture in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Accenture from $210.00 to $185.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 15th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $195.85.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of ACN stock traded up $5.16 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $189.06. The company had a trading volume of 1,041,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,909,568. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $166.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $175.32. Accenture has a one year low of $118.15 and a one year high of $291.09. The firm has a market cap of $126.26 billion, a PE ratio of 15.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.10.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, June 19th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.49 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Accenture will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 purchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total value of $1,710,964.04. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 17,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,890,450.30. The trade was a 37.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Accenture

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas boosted its position in Accenture by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas now owns 172,023 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $21,406,000 after buying an additional 13,244 shares during the period. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Accenture by 5.6% during the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,564,857 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $194,731,000 after acquiring an additional 82,362 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 5.2% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 15,708 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,955,000 after acquiring an additional 781 shares in the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Accenture by 26.7% in the second quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,071 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $755,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, C WorldWide Group Holding A S increased its holdings in Accenture by 43.9% during the 2nd quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S now owns 6,777 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $843,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Company Profile

Accenture plc is a global professional services company that helps organizations improve business performance through consulting, technology, and managed services. Its offerings include strategy and consulting, technology implementation, operations support, and business process services.

The company provides digital transformation services involving cloud computing, artificial intelligence, data and analytics, cybersecurity, systems integration, and enterprise software. Through its Song and Industry X businesses, Accenture also supports customer experience, marketing, product engineering, and smart manufacturing initiatives.

Accenture serves clients across a broad range of industries, including financial services, health care, public service, communications, media and technology, consumer goods, retail, resources, and industrial markets.