Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) Hits New 1-Year High at $129.39

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $129.39 and last traded at $129.30, with a volume of 857,550 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $128.95.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ACN shares. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The) lowered Accenture PLC from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, April 3rd. SunTrust Banks, Inc. lowered Accenture PLC from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $122.15 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Accenture PLC in a report on Monday, May 29th. Zacks Investment Research lowered Accenture PLC from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $138.00 target price (up from $132.00) on shares of Accenture PLC in a report on Wednesday, June 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Accenture PLC has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.71.

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $125.80 and its 200 day moving average is $121.49. The stock has a market cap of $79.20 billion, a PE ratio of 22.70 and a beta of 1.11.

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 22nd. The information technology services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.52. The firm had revenue of $8.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.82 billion. Accenture PLC had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 43.96%. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post $5.90 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In other Accenture PLC news, insider Daniel T. London sold 4,808 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.05, for a total value of $615,664.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,904,302.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Pierre Nanterme sold 40,134 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.02, for a total transaction of $4,937,284.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 222,362 shares in the company, valued at $27,354,973.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 74,817 shares of company stock worth $9,252,889. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Accenture PLC by 2,139.5% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 39,462,967 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,730,821,000 after buying an additional 37,700,871 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Accenture PLC by 6.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,379,397 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $5,679,843,000 after buying an additional 2,749,896 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Accenture PLC by 8.8% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,583,126 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,587,385,000 after buying an additional 1,738,262 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Accenture PLC by 38.8% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,297,555 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $515,189,000 after buying an additional 1,202,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in Accenture PLC by 212.6% in the first quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,295,260 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $156,105,000 after buying an additional 880,905 shares in the last quarter. 77.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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About Accenture PLC

Accenture plc is a professional services company serving clients in various industries and in geographic regions, including North America, Europe and Growth Markets. The Company provides management and technology consulting services. Its segments include Communications, Media and Technology; Financial Services; Health and Public Service; Products, and Resources.