Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Accenture has a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" from 27 firms, with 14 holds, 12 buys, and 1 sell. The average 12-month price target is about $193.19.
• Recent analyst moves were mixed: UBS reaffirmed a buy rating with a $275 target, while Goldman Sachs cut its target to $230 and kept a neutral view. Other firms, including Evercore, DA Davidson, and Robert W. Baird, also updated their targets.
• The company reported Q earnings that beat EPS estimates at $3.80 versus $3.70 expected, and its board approved a $2 billion share repurchase program. Accenture also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share, implying a 4.8% annualized yield.

Shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the twenty-seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have assigned a hold recommendation and twelve have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $193.1852.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ACN. Evercore set a $180.00 price target on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $275.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $230.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Accenture from $275.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, June 18th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Accenture

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Accenture during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Accenture by 147.1% during the second quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 215 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new position in Accenture during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Accenture Stock Down 0.0%

ACN opened at $135.19 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $90.28 billion, a PE ratio of 10.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.13. Accenture has a twelve month low of $118.15 and a twelve month high of $291.09. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $160.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $203.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $18.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. Accenture's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Accenture will post 13.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology services provider to buy up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. Accenture's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.08%.

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.

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