Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Stock Rating Upgraded by HSBC

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) was upgraded by equities research analysts at HSBC from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $220.00 price target on the information technology services provider’s stock. HSBC’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 9.77% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 6th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.00.

Accenture Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of ACN stock opened at $200.41 on Friday. Accenture has a 1 year low of $187.00 and a 1 year high of $325.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.38 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $234.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $246.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.34.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.82 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Accenture will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total transaction of $1,461,130.11. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. This represents a 28.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total value of $1,008,263.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,298,380.79. This represents a 30.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 22,088 shares of company stock valued at $5,970,434 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Accenture

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,070,930 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $17,726,831,000 after buying an additional 854,361 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,264,675 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $7,583,462,000 after acquiring an additional 129,610 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,471,554 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,687,867,000 after acquiring an additional 343,420 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Accenture by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,656,436 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $3,922,212,000 after purchasing an additional 218,719 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Accenture by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,693,994 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,869,199,000 after purchasing an additional 546,198 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

More Accenture News

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 beat and record bookings — Accenture reported EPS and revenue above expectations and said bookings remain strong, driven by AI and cloud demand; that underpins longer-term growth potential. BusinessWire: Q2 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic partnerships and product wins — New collaborations (notably with Microsoft on agentic security) and ongoing AI initiatives support deal pipeline and cross-sell opportunities. BusinessWire: Microsoft Collaboration
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns — Board announced a quarterly dividend (ex-dividend April 9) reinforcing cash return policy and yielding ~3.2%, which can support investor demand for the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Selective analyst upgrades — HSBC moved to “hold” with a $220 target and a few firms maintain outperform/buy ratings even as they trim targets; sentiment among sell‑side analysts is mixed. Finviz: HSBC Upgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple price-target cuts — Several brokers trimmed targets (BMO to $230, RBC to $253, Guggenheim to $250, Robert W. Baird to $265) after the quarter, increasing near‑term downside perception despite differing ratings. Benzinga: Analyst Moves TickerReport
• Negative Sentiment: Cautious revenue outlook — Management’s near-term revenue guidance came in below some Street expectations and the company warned of client caution on large IT transformation spending, which is the key driver of today’s weakness. Reuters: Revenue Forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downward revisions and stock reaction — Several analysts cut earnings/forecasts after the print and the stock is declining on higher-than-normal volume, reflecting profit‑taking and concern about near‑term execution and AI disruption risks. Benzinga: Forecast Cuts

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.