Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Price Target Cut to $186.00 by Analysts at Susquehanna

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) had its price target reduced by analysts at Susquehanna from $222.00 to $186.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the information technology services provider’s stock. Susquehanna’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 10.19% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on ACN. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. 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 research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Accenture from $275.00 to $248.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Accenture presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.85.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of ACN stock opened at $168.80 on Tuesday. Accenture has a 52 week low of $155.82 and a 52 week high of $315.95. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $181.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $221.09. The firm has a market cap of $112.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. Accenture had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 26.33%. The company had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.82 EPS. Accenture’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Accenture will post 13.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other Accenture news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,267,746.28. The trade was a 27.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Accenture

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Accenture during the fourth quarter worth about $2,146,995,000. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 41.1% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,128,134 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,223,839,000 after purchasing an additional 4,984,930 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 120.0% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,482,150 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $690,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899,305 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $311,694,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Accenture by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,173,338 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,192,907,000 after buying an additional 1,122,855 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Accenture

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Accenture is set to report fiscal third-quarter results on Thursday, and recent previews point to higher sales, earnings growth, and broad-based gains across major business segments, which could support the stock if results beat expectations.
• Positive Sentiment: Unilever said it is partnering with Accenture to scale AI-enabled digital twins across its global manufacturing network, highlighting Accenture’s role in large enterprise AI transformation projects and potentially adding to its consulting pipeline. Unilever Scales Digital Twins Across Global Manufacturing Network with Accenture
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture received the Agentic Trailblazer Award for scaling AI innovation across its workforce, reinforcing the company’s positioning as an early enterprise AI leader. Accenture Award Underscores AI Role In Client Transformations And Workforce Productivity
• Neutral Sentiment: Accenture will participate in a Procurement Magazine webinar with Coupa, Rossum, and Eurowag focused on automating accounts payable and improving finance visibility; this is positive for visibility but is unlikely to materially move the stock on its own. Procurement Magazine Announces Exclusive Webinar with Coupa, Rossum, Eurowag and Accenture
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies cut its price target on Accenture to $185 from $210 and kept a hold rating, signaling more cautious expectations for near-term upside. Jefferies adjusts price target on Accenture to 185 from 210, maintains hold rating
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley said Accenture could remain under pressure as AI-related spending increasingly competes with discretionary IT services budgets, adding to concerns about demand trends.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent investor commentary noted that Madison Large Cap Fund sold its Accenture position amid AI concerns, which may reinforce bearish sentiment around the name.

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.