Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Given New $230.00 Price Target at Susquehanna

Key Points

• Susquehanna raised Accenture’s price target from $210 to $230 while maintaining a neutral rating, implying approximately 7.2% upside from the reported $214.51 share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the consensus rating is “Hold,” with 11 Buy, 14 Hold and 2 Sell ratings and an average price target of $219.89.
• Accenture exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.29 in EPS and $18.68 billion in revenue, while its board authorized a $2 billion share-repurchase plan covering up to 2.4% of shares outstanding.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by equities research analysts at Susquehanna from $210.00 to $230.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the information technology services provider's stock. Susquehanna's price target would indicate a potential upside of 7.22% from the stock's current price.

Several other research analysts have also commented on ACN. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Accenture from $135.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Accenture from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Accenture from $150.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Berenberg Bank dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $219.89.

Accenture Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of ACN stock opened at $214.51 on Thursday. Accenture has a 1 year low of $118.15 and a 1 year high of $291.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $187.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $173.93. The company has a market cap of $143.25 billion, a PE ratio of 15.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Accenture announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to purchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total value of $1,710,964.04. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 17,735 shares in the company, valued at $2,890,450.30. This represents a 37.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Catherine Hogan sold 700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.24, for a total transaction of $149,968.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 11,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,540,029.44. This trade represents a 5.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,518 shares of company stock valued at $2,124,932. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Accenture

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Accenture by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,531,231 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,295,078,000 after purchasing an additional 143,483 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 120.0% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,482,150 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $690,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899,305 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 84.0% in the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,405,683 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $477,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097,961 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 24.3% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,384,954 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $472,913,000 after purchasing an additional 466,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 67.6% in the third quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 2,196,789 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $402,825,000 after purchasing an additional 885,687 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Accenture News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Accenture outlined multi-year growth and margin objectives through fiscal 2029. The targets give investors greater visibility into how the company expects to convert AI demand, managed services and digital transformation spending into sustained growth. Accenture mid-term growth targets
• Positive Sentiment: The company increased its quarterly dividend from $1.63 to $1.71 per share, or $6.84 annually, and completed a long-running share-repurchase program. The higher payout and buybacks may support valuation and shareholder returns. Accenture dividend hike and AI deals
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture expanded its AI relationships with Dell Technologies and Anthropic, launched a forward-deployed engineering program with Workday, and agreed to acquire Sagacity Solutions. The initiatives are intended to accelerate enterprise and agentic-AI deployments and broaden AI-driven customer intelligence services. Accenture expands AI partnerships
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $3.29 versus a $3.18 consensus and revenue of $18.68 billion versus $18.03 billion. However, the market’s reaction was tempered after an early advance, suggesting investors remain cautious about the pace of AI monetization. Accenture investor day market reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Risks include cautious client spending, pricing pressure, acquisition dependence and execution challenges. Analysts also note that the recent rally may have outpaced Accenture’s moderate underlying growth, while the consensus rating remains “Hold.”
• Negative Sentiment: COO Catherine Hogan sold 700 shares worth approximately $149,968 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transaction is relatively small and scheduled, but insider selling may weigh modestly on sentiment. Accenture insider transaction

Accenture Company Profile

Accenture plc NYSE: ACN is a global professional services company that helps organizations improve performance, modernize operations and respond to technological and market changes. Its services span strategy and consulting, technology, operations, and managed services, with expertise across industries including communications, financial services, health care, public service, retail, manufacturing and resources.

The company provides digital transformation, cloud migration, data and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, systems integration and technology implementation services.

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