Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Price Target Cut to $240.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) had its target price cut by Morgan Stanley from $320.00 to $240.00 in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the information technology services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $282.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $286.19.

Accenture Stock Performance

Accenture stock opened at $199.20 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $122.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.28. Accenture has a 1-year low of $188.73 and a 1-year high of $326.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $240.67 and a 200-day moving average of $248.27.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.21. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.65% and a net margin of 10.76%.The business had revenue of $18.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.59 EPS. Accenture’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Accenture will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 13th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,221 shares in the company, valued at $7,523,339.98. This trade represents a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total transaction of $1,008,263.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,298,380.79. This trade represents a 30.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,088 shares of company stock valued at $5,970,434. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Accenture

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Accenture during the fourth quarter valued at $2,146,995,000. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Accenture by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,128,134 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,223,839,000 after purchasing an additional 4,984,930 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 2.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,129,782 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $19,466,641,000 after buying an additional 1,315,548 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Accenture during the third quarter valued at approximately $311,694,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Accenture by 12.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,148,970 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Accenture News

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Completed acquisition of UK AI specialist Faculty and appointment of Faculty CEO Dr. Marc Warner as Accenture’s CTO, expanding Accenture’s in‑house AI capability and senior tech bench — a strategic move that supports revenue growth in AI services. Accenture Completes Acquisition of Faculty
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley notes Accenture may raise the low end of its FY2026 revenue-growth outlook despite weak demand — if realized, that would signal resilience in bookings and help support consensus estimates. Accenture May Raise Low End of 2026 Revenue Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Six‑year partnership with The R&A (golf) expands Accenture’s brand and consulting footprint in sports/consumer-facing tech — positive for visibility and client references but unlikely to move near-term revenue materially. Accenture Named Official Partner of The R&A
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry write-ups collating Wall Street Q2 estimates and key operating metrics for the Feb quarter provide context for how revenue, margins and bookings trends might look; useful for modeling but not a catalyst by itself. Insights Into Accenture Q2
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts trimmed price targets amid industry-wide multiple compression: Morgan Stanley cut its PT (reported) and kept an Overweight stance, signaling lower near-term upside expectations despite positive bias. Benzinga — Morgan Stanley PT change
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen and Guggenheim trimmed targets (TD Cowen to $275; Guggenheim from $305 to $275) even while maintaining Buy/Positive ratings — analyst downgrades to targets reflect valuation pressure across the sector and can cap near-term upside. Benzinga — TD Cowen PT change Guggenheim trims PT

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.