Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Sets New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $182.38 and last traded at $184.4570, with a volume of 1321524 shares. The stock had previously closed at $193.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ACN shares. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 16th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Argus reduced their price target on Accenture from $370.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price target on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.88.

Accenture Trading Down 5.4%

The company has a market cap of $122.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $212.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $242.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.82 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other news, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total transaction of $1,008,263.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,298,380.79. This represents a 30.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.38, for a total value of $1,101,650.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 27,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,523,339.98. The trade was a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,256 shares of company stock worth $5,464,134. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Accenture

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ACN. Investors Research Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 73.8% during the 3rd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 106 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 132.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.