Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Stock Price Down 7.5% – Should You Sell?

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN)’s share price dropped 7.5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $157.21 and last traded at $157.0950. Approximately 5,084,238 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 6,232,170 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.77.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACN has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Accenture from $317.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Accenture from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Accenture presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.50.

Accenture Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $106.26 billion, a PE ratio of 13.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $193.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The business had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.82 EPS. Accenture’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,267,746.28. This trade represents a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Accenture

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 878 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Clayton Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Holt Capital Advisors L.L.C. dba Holt Capital Partners L.P. now owns 4,416 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Accenture by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,751 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,108,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peak Asset Management LLC raised its position in Accenture by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC now owns 5,447 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,461,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is 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.