Analysts Set Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) Target Price at $192.96

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $192.9630.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Accenture from $200.00 to $194.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $247.00 to $201.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Accenture from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $210.00 to $185.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $258.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Monday, June 22nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total value of $1,710,964.04. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 17,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. This represents a 37.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Accenture

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. grew its holdings in Accenture by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. now owns 4,416 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 1.2% during the second quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,751 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Peak Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Accenture by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC now owns 5,447 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,461,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. grew its position in Accenture by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 1,433 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intrua Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Accenture by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $387,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of ACN stock opened at $179.98 on Friday. Accenture has a 12-month low of $118.15 and a 12-month high of $291.09. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.08. 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 company has a market cap of $120.19 billion, a PE ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.09.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 19th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share 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 last year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Accenture will post 13.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 reacquire up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.