Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) Receives $274.50 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $274.50.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ACN shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Accenture from $317.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 6th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Accenture

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,146,995,000. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Accenture by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,128,134 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,223,839,000 after acquiring an additional 4,984,930 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 120.0% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,482,150 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $690,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,899,305 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $311,694,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Accenture by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,173,338 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,192,907,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122,855 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:ACN opened at $178.33 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $185.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $226.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.67 billion, a PE ratio of 14.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.08. Accenture has a 12 month low of $155.82 and a 12 month high of $321.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Accenture will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.40%.

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.