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

Shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and sixteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $298.3846.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Accenture to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $300.00 target price on Accenture in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on Accenture from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $215.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Friday, December 19th.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 27,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,523,339.98. The trade was a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,332 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $366,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 28,207 shares in the company, valued at $7,756,925. This trade represents a 4.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 22,088 shares of company stock valued at $5,970,434 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Accenture

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Accenture by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 878 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Accenture by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 329 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. grew its position in shares of Accenture by 0.9% during the third quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. now owns 4,416 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC raised its stake in Accenture by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 847 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Peak Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Accenture by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC now owns 5,447 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,461,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $222.10 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. The firm has a market cap of $136.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $267.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $255.31. Accenture has a fifty-two week low of $215.16 and a fifty-two week high of $392.02.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced 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 analyst estimates of $18.51 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 26.65%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period 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, analysts expect that Accenture will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Accenture’s payout ratio is presently 53.88%.

Accenture Company Profile

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.