Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Sets New 1-Year Low on Analyst Downgrade

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $266.00 to $215.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Accenture traded as low as $196.09 and last traded at $196.5420, with a volume of 11118398 shares. The stock had previously closed at $201.18.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut shares of Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Susquehanna raised their target price on Accenture from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Accenture from $215.00 to $235.00 in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $300.00 price objective on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Accenture has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $296.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.38, for a total transaction of $1,101,650.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 27,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,523,339.98. This represents a 12.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total transaction of $1,461,130.11. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. This represents a 28.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 22,088 shares of company stock valued at $5,970,434 in the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Accenture

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ACN. Investors Research Corp lifted its stake in Accenture by 73.8% in the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 106 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Accenture by 132.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Accenture in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Trading Up 8.3%

The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50 day moving average of $255.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $252.06. The firm has a market cap of $127.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.14, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.24.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $18.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.51 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 26.65%. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.59 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. Analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th were given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio 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.