Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN – Get Rating) – Equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group cut their Q1 2024 earnings estimates for Accenture in a report released on Wednesday, February 1st. Jefferies Financial Group analyst S. Thind now expects that the information technology services provider will post earnings per share of $3.15 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $3.18. The consensus estimate for Accenture's current full-year earnings is $11.46 per share. Jefferies Financial Group also issued estimates for Accenture's Q2 2024 earnings at $2.85 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $3.18 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $2.96 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $12.14 EPS.
Get Accenture alerts:Accenture (NYSE:ACN – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Friday, December 16th. The information technology services provider reported $3.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $15.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.58 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 11.31% and a return on equity of 31.49%.
Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on ACN. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Accenture from $310.00 to $290.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 19th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Accenture from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $268.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, December 12th. Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Monday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Accenture in a research report on Monday. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $289.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Accenture from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Accenture has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $324.79.Accenture Trading Up 3.7 %
NYSE:ACN opened at $294.10 on Thursday. Accenture has a 12 month low of $242.95 and a 12 month high of $356.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $278.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $282.26. The company has a market capitalization of $185.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.65, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.23.
Accenture Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 11th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Accenture's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.69%.
Insider Activity at Accenture
In related news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 556 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.53, for a total transaction of $155,974.68. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 42,991 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,060,265.23. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider James O. Etheredge sold 1,790 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.75, for a total transaction of $464,952.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,127 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,448,738.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 556 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.53, for a total transaction of $155,974.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 42,991 shares in the company, valued at $12,060,265.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 39,015 shares of company stock valued at $10,884,179. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Accenture
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ACN. United Bank boosted its holdings in Accenture by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 2,969 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Accenture by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 89,400 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $30,148,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168 shares during the last quarter. Fund Management at Engine No. 1 LLC acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,805,000. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 7,292 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $2,459,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 104.8% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 441,451 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $148,871,000 after acquiring an additional 225,943 shares during the last quarter. 73.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About Accenture
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Accenture Plc engages in the provision of management consulting, technology, and outsourcing services. It operates through the following geographical segments: North America, Europe and Growth Markets. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.
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