Guggenheim Has Lowered Expectations for Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Stock Price

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) had its price objective cut by research analysts at Guggenheim from $250.00 to $225.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the information technology services provider’s stock. Guggenheim’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 33.80% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Accenture from $282.00 to $258.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Accenture from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Accenture from $210.00 to $199.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.89.

Accenture Stock Performance

NYSE ACN opened at $168.16 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $182.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.79. Accenture has a 12-month low of $155.82 and a 12-month high of $318.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co increased its stake in Accenture by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 15,516 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $3,077,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Farmers National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Accenture by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Farmers National Bank now owns 22,580 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,270 shares during the period. Financial Solutions Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Accenture in the first quarter valued at approximately $939,000. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 12.9% during the first quarter. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in Accenture by 139.8% during the first quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 2,755 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 1,606 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

About Accenture

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.