Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Sets New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $182.38 and last traded at $184.4570, with a volume of 1321524 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $193.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price objective on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Berenberg Bank began coverage on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $313.00 price objective for the company. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.88.

Accenture Trading Down 5.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $122.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $212.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $242.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. Analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is 53.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value of $1,101,650.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 27,221 shares in the company, 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 at this hyperlink. Also, COO Catherine Kiernan Hogan sold 660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was 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 approximately $3,564,439.84. This represents a 4.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,256 shares of company stock worth $5,464,134. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Accenture

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Accenture during the 4th quarter valued at $2,146,995,000. Capital International Investors increased its position in Accenture by 41.1% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,128,134 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,223,839,000 after buying an additional 4,984,930 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Accenture during the third quarter worth $311,694,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Accenture by 12.8% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,147,796 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,502,446,000 after buying an additional 1,148,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Accenture by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,173,338 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,192,907,000 after buying an additional 1,122,855 shares in the last quarter. 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.