Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Trading Up 4.8% – Time to Buy?

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on ACN. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research note on Friday, June 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $136.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a report on Friday, July 10th. Dbs Bank cut Accenture from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Accenture from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Berenberg Bank dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $192.96.

Accenture Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $195.32. The stock has a market cap of $97.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.60, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.08%.

Accenture announced that its board has initiated a share 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 repurchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

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

Institutional Trading of Accenture

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ACN. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 878 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC raised its position in Accenture by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 329 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 0.9% in the third 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 valued at $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,461,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,751 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.