Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $219.26

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on Accenture, with 14 hold, 11 buy and 2 sell recommendations. The average 12-month price target is $219.26, below the reported trading price of $239.16.
• Accenture exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting adjusted EPS of $3.29 versus the $3.18 consensus and revenue of $18.68 billion versus $18.03 billion expected. Revenue increased 6.2% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.71 per share, equivalent to a 2.9% yield, and authorized a $2 billion share-repurchase program. Insiders sold 12,518 shares worth approximately $2.1 million over the past three months.

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the twenty-seven analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have given a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $219.26.

ACN has been the subject of several research reports. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Accenture from $165.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Accenture from $136.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $220.00 price target on Accenture in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Accenture from $275.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Catherine Hogan sold 1,320 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $264,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,556 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 17,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. This trade represents a 37.18% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold a total of 12,518 shares of company stock worth $2,124,932 over the last three months. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Accenture

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its position in Accenture by 63.5% in the 3rd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 26,565 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $4,871,000 after purchasing an additional 10,322 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 8.0% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 34,253 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $6,281,000 after buying an additional 2,530 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 319.2% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,001,809 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $183,702,000 after buying an additional 762,827 shares during the last quarter. Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. increased its position in Accenture by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. now owns 3,689 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $676,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rare Wolf Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Accenture in the third quarter worth about $913,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Accenture Trading Up 0.9%

Accenture stock opened at $239.16 on Wednesday. Accenture has a 52 week low of $118.15 and a 52 week high of $291.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $191.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.95.

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

Accenture Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be given a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. This is a positive change from Accenture's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Accenture's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.44%.

Accenture announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program 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 reacquire up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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.