Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Accenture has a consensus “Hold” rating from 27 analysts: 14 holds, 12 buys and one sell. The average 12-month price target is approximately $194.19.
• The company exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $3.80 versus the $3.70 consensus, while revenue reached $18.72 billion and grew 5.6% year over year.
• Accenture announced a $2 billion share-repurchase program and paid a quarterly dividend of $1.63, equivalent to a 3.4% annualized yield; institutional investors own 75.14% of outstanding shares.

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty-seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $194.1852.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Berenberg Bank decreased their target price on Accenture from $273.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $275.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Evercore set a $180.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Accenture from $225.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 22nd.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In related news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 $2,890,450.30. This trade represents a 37.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Accenture

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ACN. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Accenture by 12,316.0% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 116,033,331 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $14,439,188,000 after purchasing an additional 115,098,783 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Accenture by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,264,675 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $7,583,462,000 after buying an additional 129,610 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Accenture by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,471,554 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $4,687,867,000 after acquiring an additional 343,420 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Accenture by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,656,436 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $3,922,212,000 after acquiring an additional 218,719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Accenture by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,173,338 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $2,192,907,000 after acquiring an additional 1,122,855 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of ACN opened at $190.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company's fifty day moving average price is $157.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.54. Accenture has a 1-year low of $118.15 and a 1-year high of $291.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.09.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, June 19th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.47% and a net margin of 10.66%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Accenture will post 13.85 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. Accenture's payout ratio is 52.08%.

Accenture declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan 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 buy up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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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