Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Stock Price Target Raised at Susquehanna

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) had its target price upped by equities research analysts at Susquehanna from $210.00 to $230.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the information technology services provider’s stock. Susquehanna’s price target indicates a potential upside of 7.22% from the company’s previous close.

ACN has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Accenture from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Accenture from $226.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $245.00 price objective on Accenture in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Accenture from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $219.89.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of ACN stock opened at $214.51 on Thursday. Accenture has a 52-week low of $118.15 and a 52-week high of $291.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $143.25 billion, a PE ratio of 15.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.93.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $18.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.03 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.53% and a net margin of 11.28%. Accenture’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.03 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Accenture will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total transaction of $1,710,964.04. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 17,735 shares in the company, valued at $2,890,450.30. This trade represents a 37.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Catherine Hogan sold 700 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.24, for a total transaction of $149,968.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 11,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,540,029.44. The trade was a 5.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,518 shares of company stock valued at $2,124,932. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Accenture

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Flossbach Von Storch SE purchased a new stake in Accenture in the 2nd quarter valued at about $309,873,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Accenture by 120.0% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,482,150 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $690,475,000 after buying an additional 1,899,305 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Accenture by 84.0% during the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,405,683 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $477,023,000 after buying an additional 1,097,961 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its position in shares of Accenture by 67.6% during the third quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 2,196,789 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $402,825,000 after acquiring an additional 885,687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture during the second quarter valued at about $92,086,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Accenture

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Accenture outlined multi-year growth and margin objectives through fiscal 2029. The targets give investors greater visibility into how the company expects to convert AI demand, managed services and digital transformation spending into sustained growth. Accenture mid-term growth targets
• Positive Sentiment: The company increased its quarterly dividend from $1.63 to $1.71 per share, or $6.84 annually, and completed a long-running share-repurchase program. The higher payout and buybacks may support valuation and shareholder returns. Accenture dividend hike and AI deals
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture expanded its AI relationships with Dell Technologies and Anthropic, launched a forward-deployed engineering program with Workday, and agreed to acquire Sagacity Solutions. The initiatives are intended to accelerate enterprise and agentic-AI deployments and broaden AI-driven customer intelligence services. Accenture expands AI partnerships
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $3.29 versus a $3.18 consensus and revenue of $18.68 billion versus $18.03 billion. However, the market’s reaction was tempered after an early advance, suggesting investors remain cautious about the pace of AI monetization. Accenture investor day market reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Risks include cautious client spending, pricing pressure, acquisition dependence and execution challenges. Analysts also note that the recent rally may have outpaced Accenture’s moderate underlying growth, while the consensus rating remains “Hold.”
• Negative Sentiment: COO Catherine Hogan sold 700 shares worth approximately $149,968 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transaction is relatively small and scheduled, but insider selling may weigh modestly on sentiment. Accenture insider transaction

Accenture Company Profile

Accenture plc (NYSE: ACN) is a global professional services company that helps organizations improve performance, modernize operations and respond to technological and market changes. Its services span strategy and consulting, technology, operations, and managed services, with expertise across industries including communications, financial services, health care, public service, retail, manufacturing and resources.

The company provides digital transformation, cloud migration, data and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, systems integration and technology implementation services.