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

Shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $172.22 and last traded at $172.4080, with a volume of 4621634 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $180.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ACN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Accenture from $266.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen investment 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 company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.50.

Accenture Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $193.97 and a 200-day moving average of $233.54. The firm has a market cap of $114.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced 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 business had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.82 earnings per share. Accenture’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 3.8%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is 53.40%.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. McMillan Office Inc. bought a new position in Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. 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.