Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Given New $250.00 Price Target at Guggenheim

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) had its target price lowered by Guggenheim from $275.00 to $250.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the information technology services provider’s stock.

ACN has been the topic of several other research reports. HSBC lifted their target price on Accenture from $215.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on shares of Accenture from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Accenture from $266.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Argus cut their price target on shares of Accenture from $370.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 29th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Accenture has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.00.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $200.41 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $234.38 and a 200 day moving average of $246.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $123.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.27. Accenture has a 52 week low of $187.00 and a 52 week high of $325.71.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Accenture will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.40%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John F. Walsh sold 3,986 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Manish Sharma sold 2,731 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.13, for a total value of $786,883.03. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,033,333.41. This represents a 27.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 22,088 shares of company stock valued at $5,970,434 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new stake in Accenture during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in Accenture during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Investors Research Corp grew its position in Accenture by 73.8% during the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 106 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Accenture

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

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.