Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) shares hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $172.22 and last traded at $172.4080, with a volume of 4621634 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $180.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Accenture from $317.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.50.

Accenture Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market cap of $106.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $232.35.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The firm had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Accenture

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. McMillan Office Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of 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.