Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Accenture (NYSE:ACN)
by Doug Wharley · The Cerbat GemAccenture PLC (NYSE:ACN – Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 16,951 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 22% compared to the average volume of 13,892 call options.
Accenture Stock Performance
Accenture stock opened at $159.68 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $106.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.08, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $192.27 and its 200 day moving average is $232.35. Accenture has a twelve month low of $155.82 and a twelve month high of $324.00.
Accenture (NYSE:ACN – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Accenture will post 13.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Accenture Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Accenture’s payout ratio is 53.40%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. HSBC lowered their target price on Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Accenture from $282.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $274.50.
Read Our Latest Research Report on ACN
Insider Transactions at Accenture
In related news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total transaction of $863,026.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,802 shares in the company, 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 this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Trading of Accenture
Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Accenture by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,070,930 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $17,726,831,000 after purchasing an additional 854,361 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Accenture by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,264,675 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $7,583,462,000 after purchasing an additional 129,610 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Accenture by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,471,554 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,687,867,000 after purchasing an additional 343,420 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Accenture by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,656,436 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $3,922,212,000 after purchasing an additional 218,719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Accenture by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,693,994 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,869,199,000 after purchasing an additional 546,198 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.