Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Accenture (NYSE:ACN)

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders acquired 58,099 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 248% compared to the typical volume of 16,712 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “reduce” rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Accenture from $136.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. BMO Capital Markets set a $235.00 target price on Accenture in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $245.00 target price on Accenture in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $219.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Catherine Hogan sold 1,320 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $264,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,511,200. This trade represents a 9.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total transaction of $1,710,964.04. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 17,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,890,450.30. This trade represents a 37.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Accenture

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Accenture by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,531,231 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,295,078,000 after buying an additional 143,483 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 120.0% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,482,150 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $690,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,899,305 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 84.0% during the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,405,683 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $477,023,000 after acquiring an additional 1,097,961 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 24.3% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,384,954 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $472,913,000 after acquiring an additional 466,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 67.6% in the third quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 2,196,789 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $402,825,000 after acquiring an additional 885,687 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Stock Up 2.8%

ACN stock traded up $5.80 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $214.86. The company had a trading volume of 6,388,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,001,594. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $184.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.43. The company has a market capitalization of $143.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.11. Accenture has a fifty-two week low of $118.15 and a fifty-two week high of $291.09.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.53% and a net margin of 11.28%. The business had revenue of $18.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Accenture has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.390-14.810 EPS. Analysts forecast that Accenture will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology services provider to purchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be paid a $1.71 dividend. This is an increase from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 13th. Accenture’s payout ratio is presently 50.44%.

About Accenture

Accenture plc (NYSE: ACN) is a global professional services company that helps organizations improve performance, modernize operations and respond to technological and market changes. Its services span strategy and consulting, technology, operations, and managed services, with expertise across industries including communications, financial services, health care, public service, retail, manufacturing and resources.

The company provides digital transformation, cloud migration, data and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, systems integration and technology implementation services.