Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Accenture has a consensus “Hold” rating from 27 brokerages: 14 analysts rate it Hold, 12 Buy, and one Sell. The average 12-month price target is approximately $192.96, though several major firms recently lowered their targets.
• Accenture reported quarterly EPS of $3.80, above the $3.70 consensus, while revenue of $18.72 billion slightly missed estimates. Revenue increased 5.6% year over year, and the company expects fiscal 2026 EPS of $13.78–$13.90.
• The company approved a $2 billion share-repurchase program and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.63, equivalent to an annualized $6.52 payout and a 3.8% yield. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the stock.

Shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty-seven brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $192.9630.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ACN. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on Accenture from $180.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Accenture from $247.00 to $201.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $253.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $230.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total transaction of $1,710,964.04. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 17,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. The trade was a 37.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 36.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $6,486,000 after acquiring an additional 4,905 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Accenture by 46.9% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. United Bank increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 49.8% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 23.0% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 828 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Accenture Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of ACN opened at $171.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.68, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.09. Accenture has a twelve month low of $118.15 and a twelve month high of $291.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.23.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 26.47%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.49 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Accenture will post 13.85 EPS for the current year.

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. Accenture's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.08%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source