JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Price Target to $201.00

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $247.00 to $201.00 in a report released on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the information technology services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 13.06% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Accenture from $320.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Accenture from $210.00 to $199.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $260.81.

Accenture Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACN opened at $177.78 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $184.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $224.23. Accenture has a 12-month low of $155.82 and a 12-month high of $321.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $118.30 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.08.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $18.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Accenture will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Accenture

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Accenture in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Accenture during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Accenture during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. McMillan Office Inc. acquired a new position in Accenture during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. 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.