Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Price Target Cut to $258.00 by Analysts at TD Cowen

Key Points

• TD Cowen cut Accenture’s price target from $282 to $258 while keeping a buy rating, implying about 45% upside from the prior close.
• Several other firms also lowered their targets recently, and the stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $260.81.
• Accenture’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $2.93 and revenue of $18.04 billion, while revenue grew 7.8% year over year.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by investment analysts at TD Cowen from $282.00 to $258.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the information technology services provider's stock. TD Cowen's target price points to a potential upside of 45.13% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. HSBC decreased their price target on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Oppenheimer set a $201.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Accenture from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Accenture currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $260.81.

Accenture Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE ACN opened at $177.78 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.30 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.08. The stock's 50 day moving average is $184.29 and its 200 day moving average is $224.23. Accenture has a twelve month low of $155.82 and a twelve month high of $321.77.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Accenture will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Accenture

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Accenture by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 878 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Clayton Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 329 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. increased its holdings in Accenture by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. now owns 4,416 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Accenture by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC now owns 5,447 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,461,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Accenture by 1.2% in the second quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,751 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company's stock.

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.

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