Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Price Target Raised to $370.00

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) had its price target raised by Robert W. Baird from $350.00 to $370.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has a neutral rating on the information technology services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Accenture from $375.00 to $350.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 21st. UBS Group raised Accenture from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $400.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, July 19th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Accenture from $350.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Accenture from $340.00 to $275.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Accenture from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $371.18.

Accenture Stock Performance

NYSE ACN opened at $353.33 on Friday. Accenture has a one year low of $278.69 and a one year high of $387.51. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $334.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $320.23. The firm has a market cap of $221.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.36, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.24.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The information technology services provider reported $2.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $16.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.37 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 27.48% and a net margin of 10.79%. Accenture’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.71 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Accenture will post 11.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to purchase up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $1.48 dividend. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is 47.25%.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other Accenture news, insider Ellyn Shook sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.82, for a total transaction of $1,649,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,964,751.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 8,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.05, for a total value of $2,696,402.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 22,849 shares in the company, valued at $7,564,161.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ellyn Shook sold 5,000 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.82, for a total value of $1,649,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,964,751.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,421 shares of company stock valued at $6,912,635. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Accenture

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,043,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Accenture by 1.1% during the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 5,661 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,718,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in shares of Accenture by 38.0% in the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 379,060 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $115,011,000 after acquiring an additional 104,325 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 5,216 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,583,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cim LLC increased its holdings in Accenture by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cim LLC now owns 6,887 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,090,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Accenture

Accenture plc, a professional services company, provides strategy and consulting, industry X, song, and technology and operation services worldwide. The company offers application services, including agile transformation, DevOps, application modernization, enterprise architecture, software and quality engineering, data management; intelligent automation comprising robotic process automation, natural language processing, and virtual agents; and application management services, as well as software engineering services; strategy and consulting services; data and analytics strategy, data discovery and augmentation, data management and beyond, data democratization, and industrialized solutions comprising turnkey analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions; metaverse; and sustainability services.