Accenture Plc (NYSE:ACN) – Equities researchers at KeyCorp upped their Q3 2020 earnings estimates for Accenture in a note issued to investors on Monday, December 16th, Zacks Investment Research reports. KeyCorp analyst A. Ramnani now anticipates that the information technology services provider will post earnings of $2.10 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $2.07. KeyCorp currently has a “Overweight” rating and a $219.00 target price on the stock.
Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The information technology services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.10. Accenture had a return on equity of 33.35% and a net margin of 11.06%. The business had revenue of $11.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. Accenture’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year.
A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on ACN. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Accenture from $203.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Accenture from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays began coverage on Accenture in a report on Friday, September 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $228.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on Accenture from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Accenture presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.19.
Shares of ACN stock opened at $210.15 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $133.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Accenture has a 12-month low of $135.58 and a 12-month high of $213.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $203.74 and a 200-day moving average of $194.00.
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ACN. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its position in Accenture by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 22,500 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,157,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Accenture by 2.9% during the second quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 138,645 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $25,618,000 after acquiring an additional 3,952 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Equity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Accenture by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. Chicago Equity Partners LLC now owns 1,790 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Buckingham Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 13.3% in the second quarter. Buckingham Asset Management LLC now owns 1,970 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plimoth Trust Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $361,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.65% of the company’s stock.
In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 804 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.68, for a total value of $150,090.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Richard P. Clark sold 2,752 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.70, for a total value of $511,046.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,014 shares of company stock valued at $6,859,750 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.
The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.48%.
Accenture Company Profile
Accenture plc provides consulting, technology, and outsourcing services in Ireland and internationally. Its Communications, Media & Technology segment provides professional services that help clients accelerate and deliver digital transformation, develop industry-specific solutions, and enhance efficiencies and business results for communications, media, high tech, software, and platform companies.