Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $173.56 and last traded at $179.0970, with a volume of 5132927 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $180.12.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Berenberg Bank started coverage on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $313.00 target price on the stock. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.50.

Accenture Stock Down 0.2%

The stock has a market cap of $119.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $194.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $234.53.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 15,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. This trade represents a 28.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Accenture in the fourth quarter worth $2,146,995,000. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,128,134 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,223,839,000 after acquiring an additional 4,984,930 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at about $311,694,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Accenture by 12.8% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,147,796 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,502,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148,970 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,173,338 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,192,907,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122,855 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

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.