Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $296.8333.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Accenture from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Accenture from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on Accenture from $250.00 to $255.00 in a report on Friday, September 19th.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other Accenture news, insider Manish Sharma sold 6,902 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.01, for a total value of $1,725,569.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $465,018.60. The trade was a 78.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ryoji Sekido sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.47, for a total value of $623,675.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,390 shares in the company, valued at $346,763.30. This trade represents a 64.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,319 shares of company stock worth $8,335,225. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Accenture

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new position in Accenture during the second quarter valued at $2,637,640,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,216,850,000. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in 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 valued at $4,223,839,000 after buying an additional 4,984,930 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Accenture by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,129,782 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $19,466,641,000 after buying an additional 1,315,548 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the third quarter valued at approximately $311,694,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $268.44 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.26. The business’s 50-day moving average is $257.22 and its 200 day moving average is $261.10. Accenture has a 1 year low of $229.40 and a 1 year high of $398.35.

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

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 53.88%.

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.