TD Cowen Issues Positive Forecast for Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Stock Price

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) had its price target raised by analysts at TD Cowen from $151.00 to $173.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the information technology services provider’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target suggests a potential downside of 6.41% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on ACN. DA Davidson lowered their target price 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. Evercore set a $180.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Accenture from $280.00 to $226.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on Accenture from $165.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Dbs Bank downgraded Accenture from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $194.19.

Accenture Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $184.84 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a 50-day moving average of $152.74 and a 200 day moving average of $178.98. Accenture has a 12-month low of $118.15 and a 12-month high of $291.09. The stock has a market cap of $123.44 billion, a PE ratio of 14.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.09.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 19th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.78 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.47% and a net margin of 10.66%.The firm’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Accenture will post 13.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total value of $1,710,964.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 17,735 shares in the company, valued at $2,890,450.30. The trade was a 37.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Accenture

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ACN. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Accenture during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 147.1% in the second quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 215 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in Accenture in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.