Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $137.19, but opened at $130.94. Accenture shares last traded at $135.9120, with a volume of 974,233 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. TD Cowen downgraded Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $258.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Accenture from $186.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.33.

Accenture Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $161.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $205.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $92.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.13.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.47% and a net margin of 10.66%.The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

Accenture announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 23rd that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of Accenture 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Accenture

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ACN. HF Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the 2nd quarter worth about $561,000. Arista Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Accenture in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Accenture by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,853 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. Polianta Ltd increased its position in Accenture by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter. Polianta Ltd now owns 9,300 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,157,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Finally, Crumly & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 31.3% during the second quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 2,731 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.