Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Berenberg Bank

Berenberg Bank assumed coverage on shares of Accenture (NYSE:ACN) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $313.00 target price on the information technology services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on ACN. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $300.00 price target on Accenture in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Accenture from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price target on Accenture from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $297.81.

Accenture Trading Down 1.4%

ACN opened at $281.00 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Accenture has a 12 month low of $229.40 and a 12 month high of $398.35. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $267.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $258.36.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $18.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.59 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Accenture will post 12.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is 53.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,332 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 28,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,756,925. The trade was a 4.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 9,000 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.40, for a total transaction of $2,280,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,678,354.40. This represents a 38.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,674 shares of company stock valued at $5,661,414. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Accenture

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Accenture by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 878 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Accenture by 4.4% during the second quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 854 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its position in Accenture by 0.8% during the second quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 4,902 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,465,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Accenture by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 329 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in Accenture by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.