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Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Reaches New 1-Year Low - Here's Why

Accenture logo with Computer and Technology background

Key Points

  • Accenture's shares recently hit a new 52-week low at $272.51 during mid-day trading, down from a previous close of $278.90.
  • Analysts have set a range of price targets for Accenture, with the current average target at $360.21, indicating a general outlook of a "Moderate Buy."
  • The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.48 per share, with a yield of 2.16%, and a payout ratio of 47.13%.
  • Want stock alerts on Accenture? Get 5 Weeks of MarketBeat All Access for $5. Get My Stock Alerts.

Shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $272.51 and last traded at $272.63, with a volume of 2694170 shares. The stock had previously closed at $278.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACN has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $364.00 to $355.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $330.00 target price for the company. HSBC initiated coverage on Accenture in a research note on Monday, July 28th. They issued a "reduce" rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Accenture from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Accenture to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $360.21.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on ACN

Accenture Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $297.98 and a 200-day moving average of $319.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The stock has a market cap of $159.83 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.29.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The information technology services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.17. Accenture had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The business had revenue of $17.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.13 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $1.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Accenture's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.13%.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In related news, CEO Mauro Macchi sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.34, for a total value of $141,170.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,582.22. The trade was a 17.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Angela Beatty sold 203 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.34, for a total value of $57,315.02. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,249 shares in the company, valued at $1,482,002.66. This trade represents a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,454 shares of company stock worth $1,646,780. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Accenture

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA bought a new position in shares of Accenture in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Accenture in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Accenture Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Accenture plc, a professional services company, provides strategy and consulting, industry X, song, and technology and operation services worldwide. The company offers application services, including agile transformation, DevOps, application modernization, enterprise architecture, software and quality engineering, data management; intelligent automation comprising robotic process automation, natural language processing, and virtual agents; and application management services, as well as software engineering services; strategy and consulting services; data and analytics strategy, data discovery and augmentation, data management and beyond, data democratization, and industrialized solutions comprising turnkey analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions; metaverse; and sustainability services.

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