Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $137.19, but opened at $130.94. Accenture shares last traded at $135.9120, with a volume of 974,233 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ACN. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Accenture from $253.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research report on Friday, June 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Accenture from $177.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $201.00 target price on Accenture in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.19.

Accenture Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $160.28 and a 200-day moving average of $203.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.13.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.10. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.47% and a net margin of 10.66%.The company had revenue of $18.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.49 EPS. Accenture’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.780-13.900 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 13.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. Accenture’s payout ratio is 52.08%.

Accenture declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Accenture

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 74,187 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $9,232,000 after purchasing an additional 7,018 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Accenture by 10.3% during the second quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,192 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Accenture by 25.7% during the second quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,058 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 829 shares during the period. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Accenture in the second quarter worth approximately $272,000. Finally, William Mack & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Accenture by 1.5% during the second quarter. William Mack & Associates Inc. now owns 11,155 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,388,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.