Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Downgraded by Robert W. Baird to Hold

Key Points

• Robert W. Baird downgraded Accenture from “strong buy” to “hold,” bringing the consensus rating to “Hold” across analysts, with an average price target of $219.52.
• Accenture reported quarterly earnings of $3.29 per share versus the $3.18 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $18.68 billion and rose 6.2% year over year.
• The stock opened at $240.61, up 0.6%, while insiders sold 12,518 shares worth approximately $2.1 million during the past quarter; institutional investors own 75.14% of shares.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

ACN has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Accenture from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. UBS Group set a $278.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective 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. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Accenture from $175.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Accenture from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Wednesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $219.52.

Accenture Trading Up 0.6%

ACN opened at $240.61 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $192.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Accenture has a one year low of $118.15 and a one year high of $291.09.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $18.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.03 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 26.53%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.03 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. Analysts predict that Accenture will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Catherine Hogan sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $264,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,556 shares in the company, valued at $2,511,200. This trade represents a 9.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total transaction of $1,710,964.04. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 17,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. This trade represents a 37.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,518 shares of company stock valued at $2,124,932. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Accenture

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. NBT Bank N.A. bought a new position in Accenture during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $277,000. Isthmus Partners LLC raised its stake in Accenture by 5.1% during the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 49,623 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $9,099,000 after buying an additional 2,429 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Accenture during the third quarter valued at $266,000. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Accenture by 60.4% in the third quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 13,270 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $2,433,000 after acquiring an additional 4,999 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Accenture by 13.4% in the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,649 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Company Profile

Accenture plc is a global professional services company that helps organizations transform their businesses through consulting, technology and managed services. Its work spans strategy and consulting, technology implementation, operations, and interactive customer experiences.

The company provides services in areas including cloud computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data and analytics, digital engineering, enterprise software, systems integration and business process outsourcing.

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