Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Hits New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN – Get Rating) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $340.00 to $325.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Accenture traded as low as $242.80 and last traded at $244.55, with a volume of 2793627 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $252.48.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Accenture from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Accenture from $290.00 to $279.00 in a research report on Monday, December 19th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler cut shares of Accenture from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $268.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Accenture in a research report on Monday, January 30th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $289.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.47.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other news, insider James O. Etheredge sold 1,790 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.75, for a total transaction of $464,952.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,127 shares in the company, valued at $4,448,738.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Accenture news, Director Paula A. Price sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.77, for a total transaction of $194,077.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,697 shares in the company, valued at $1,732,982.69. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider James O. Etheredge sold 1,790 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.75, for a total transaction of $464,952.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,127 shares in the company, valued at $4,448,738.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 39,015 shares of company stock worth $10,884,179 over the last ninety days. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Accenture

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. CI Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Accenture by 3.6% in the second quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 59,876 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $16,625,000 after purchasing an additional 2,087 shares during the last quarter. Dubuque Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Accenture by 10.9% in the third quarter. Dubuque Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,233 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Accenture by 15.5% in the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 2,866 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $771,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp grew its position in shares of Accenture by 3.5% in the third quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 4,480 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Korea Investment CORP grew its position in shares of Accenture by 4.3% in the second quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 597,757 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $165,967,000 after purchasing an additional 24,630 shares during the last quarter. 73.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Accenture Stock Down 2.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $155.15 billion, a PE ratio of 22.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $274.28 and its 200-day moving average is $275.63.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 16th. The information technology services provider reported $3.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $15.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 11.31% and a return on equity of 31.49%. On average, analysts forecast that Accenture plc will post 11.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 11th. Accenture’s payout ratio is 40.69%.

About Accenture

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Accenture Plc engages in the provision of management consulting, technology, and outsourcing services. It operates through the following geographical segments: North America, Europe and Growth Markets. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.