Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Trading 4.8% Higher – Should You Buy?

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN)’s stock price shot up 4.8% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $144.61 and last traded at $145.4060. Approximately 875,278 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 7,210,882 shares. The stock had previously closed at $138.74.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ACN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $136.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a report on Friday, July 10th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Accenture from $275.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $210.00 to $185.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 15th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $275.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Accenture from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $192.96.

Accenture Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $97.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.13. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $154.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $195.32.

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

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.08%.

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to purchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Accenture

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Accenture

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Accenture by 36.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 4,905 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Accenture by 46.9% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $618,000 after buying an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. United Bank grew its stake in Accenture by 49.8% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,088,000 after buying an additional 1,209 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in shares of Accenture by 23.0% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 828 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

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.