Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) Stock Rated “Hold” by Wall Street Brokerages

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-seven analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $221.07.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ACN shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Accenture from $175.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird lowered Accenture from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $245.00 to $252.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Susquehanna increased their target price on Accenture from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $242.00 price target on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Evercore set a $250.00 price target on Accenture and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total value of $2,700,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,996 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,618,920. The trade was a 62.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 811 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $202,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,820 shares in the company, valued at $2,455,000. This trade represents a 7.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 18,675 shares of company stock valued at $4,747,563. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Accenture

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Accenture during the third quarter worth approximately $259,000. Financial Advisors Network Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth $299,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Accenture by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 84,553 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $15,504,000 after buying an additional 19,698 shares during the period. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC raised its position in shares of Accenture by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC now owns 17,979 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $3,297,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Wallace Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Accenture in the third quarter valued at $462,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of ACN stock traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $250.80. 3,400,376 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,925,131. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $216.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $191.22. Accenture has a 1-year low of $118.15 and a 1-year high of $291.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market cap of $148.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.01.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $18.68 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.03 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Accenture will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th were paid a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 13th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is 50.44%.

Accenture Company Profile

Accenture plc is a global professional services company that helps businesses, governments and other organizations solve operational and technology challenges. Its work includes strategy and management consulting, digital transformation, systems integration and the design, implementation and management of technology solutions. The company serves clients across a broad range of industries and geographies. Its services span cloud computing, data and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, software and platforms, business process operations, and digital marketing and customer experience.