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

Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders purchased 44,309 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 449% compared to the typical daily volume of 8,073 put options.

Accenture Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ACN traded down $4.08 on Wednesday, reaching $312.75. The company had a trading volume of 2,214,797 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,382,253. Accenture has a 52-week low of $261.68 and a 52-week high of $387.51. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $353.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $342.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.77 billion, a PE ratio of 28.72, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.19.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The information technology services provider reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.66 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 28.30% and a net margin of 10.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Accenture will post 12.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 10th. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Accenture from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Accenture from $430.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Accenture from $363.00 to $350.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Accenture from $374.00 to $381.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Accenture from $385.00 to $375.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $387.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 4,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $371.83, for a total value of $1,611,139.39. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 34,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,937,824.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 4,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $371.83, for a total value of $1,611,139.39. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 34,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,937,824.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ellyn Shook sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $371.81, for a total value of $1,859,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,316 shares in the company, valued at $7,553,691.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 39,833 shares of company stock valued at $13,645,871. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Accenture

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Chilton Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 180.0% in the 4th quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 70 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 507.7% in the 1st quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 79 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Accenture in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 214.8% in the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 85 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

About Accenture

Accenture plc, a professional services company, provides strategy and consulting, industry X, song, and technology and operation services worldwide. The company offers application services, including agile transformation, DevOps, application modernization, enterprise architecture, software and quality engineering, data management; intelligent automation comprising robotic process automation, natural language processing, and virtual agents; and application management services, as well as software engineering services; strategy and consulting services; data and analytics strategy, data discovery and augmentation, data management and beyond, data democratization, and industrialized solutions comprising turnkey analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions; metaverse; and sustainability services.