Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $298.3846.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Argus lowered their price objective on shares of Accenture from $370.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on Accenture from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. HSBC increased their target price on Accenture from $215.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on Accenture from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.70, for a total transaction of $289,024.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 27,181 shares in the company, valued at $7,656,887.70. This trade represents a 3.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Catherine Kiernan Hogan sold 660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.93, for a total value of $185,413.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,688 shares in the company, valued at $3,564,439.84. The trade was a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 22,088 shares of company stock valued at $5,970,434 over the last quarter. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Accenture

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ACN. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Accenture by 36.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $6,486,000 after acquiring an additional 4,905 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Accenture by 46.9% in the second 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 during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,274 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Accenture by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 9,121 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,726,000 after buying an additional 458 shares during the period. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 6,882 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,949,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Accenture Price Performance

Accenture stock opened at $219.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41. Accenture has a 52 week low of $215.16 and a 52 week high of $392.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $264.90 and a 200-day moving average of $254.09.

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

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.88%.

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.