Brokerages Set Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) PT at $194.19

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-seven analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have given a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $194.1852.

Several equities analysts recently commented on ACN shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research note on Friday, June 19th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Accenture from $210.00 to $185.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on Accenture from $165.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Oppenheimer set a $201.00 target price on Accenture in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Accenture from $280.00 to $226.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In related news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total value of $1,710,964.04. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 17,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,890,450.30. The trade was a 37.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Accenture

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. McMillan Office Inc. bought a new stake in Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in Accenture during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Accenture by 134.8% in the first quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of ACN stock opened at $186.53 on Tuesday. Accenture has a fifty-two week low of $118.15 and a fifty-two week high of $291.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $161.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $124.57 billion, a PE ratio of 14.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.10.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 19th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.47% and a net margin of 10.66%.The company had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. Accenture’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Accenture will post 13.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is 52.08%.

Accenture declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.