Accenture Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:ACN)

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 16,951 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 22% compared to the typical volume of 13,892 call options.

Accenture Stock Down 7.3%

Accenture stock traded down $12.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $157.43. 7,297,433 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,258,124. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $193.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $232.98. The company has a market cap of $104.76 billion, a PE ratio of 12.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Accenture has a fifty-two week low of $155.82 and a fifty-two week high of $324.00.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.82 EPS. Accenture’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Accenture will post 13.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on ACN. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Accenture from $309.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. HSBC lowered their price target on shares of Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Accenture from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Accenture from $317.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.50.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, CEO Atsushi Egawa sold 4,872 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.14, for a total value of $863,026.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,746.28. This represents a 27.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Accenture by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $6,486,000 after buying an additional 4,905 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Accenture by 46.9% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $618,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. United Bank increased its stake in Accenture by 49.8% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in Accenture by 23.0% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 828 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Accenture by 4.2% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently 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.