Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Sets New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $175.45 and last traded at $176.5810, with a volume of 1136462 shares. The stock had previously closed at $190.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 16th. HSBC reduced their price objective on shares of Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $266.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.50.

Accenture Trading Down 6.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The business has a fifty day moving average of $201.61 and a 200-day moving average of $238.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.24.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. 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 posted $2.82 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Accenture’s payout ratio is 53.40%.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,679,963.65. The trade was a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Catherine Kiernan Hogan sold 660 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.93, for a total value of $185,413.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 12,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,564,439.84. This trade represents a 4.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,331 shares of company stock worth $4,048,871. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Accenture

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Accenture by 132.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Accenture in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

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.