Analysts Set Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) Target Price at $274.50

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seventeen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $274.50.

ACN has been the topic of several recent research reports. HSBC reduced their price target on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Accenture from $317.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $313.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total value of $1,461,130.11. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. This trade represents a 28.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 10,943 shares of company stock worth $2,327,545. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Accenture

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. McMillan Office Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 132.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Accenture Price Performance

ACN opened at $179.96 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $196.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $235.78. 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 has a 1 year low of $173.65 and a 1 year high of $325.71. The firm has a market cap of $119.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.40%.

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.