Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $266.79, but opened at $249.44. Accenture shares last traded at $248.2010, with a volume of 854,462 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on ACN. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Accenture from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. HSBC upped their price target on Accenture from $215.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Friday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $300.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Accenture currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $298.38.

Accenture Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.41. The company has a market capitalization of $143.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50-day moving average of $270.68 and a 200-day moving average of $257.20.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $18.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.51 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 26.65%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.59 EPS. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.88%.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In related news, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total value of $1,008,263.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 8,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,298,380.79. The trade was a 30.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Manish Sharma sold 2,731 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.13, for a total value of $786,883.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,033,333.41. This trade represents a 27.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 16,031 shares of company stock valued at $4,509,304. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Accenture

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ACN. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Accenture by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 4,905 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 46.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $618,000 after buying an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 4,902 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,465,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Country Club Bank lifted its position in Accenture by 42.0% during the second quarter. Country Club Bank now owns 5,392 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,593,000 after acquiring an additional 1,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Accenture in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

About Accenture

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.