Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 18,236,022 shares, an increase of 24.1% from the March 15th total of 14,694,453 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 9,353,847 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Accenture Price Performance

Shares of ACN stock traded up $3.71 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $197.71. The stock had a trading volume of 4,501,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,925,342. Accenture has a one year low of $177.50 and a one year high of $325.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $204.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $239.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.19, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.24.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $17.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Accenture will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other Accenture news, COO Catherine Kiernan Hogan sold 660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.93, for a total transaction of $185,413.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,564,439.84. This trade represents a 4.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total transaction of $1,461,130.11. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,679,963.65. The trade was a 28.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 15,331 shares of company stock worth $4,048,871 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Accenture

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ACN. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Accenture by 36.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 4,905 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Accenture by 46.9% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. United Bank increased its position in Accenture by 49.8% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted 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 worth $247,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Accenture by 4.2% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,767 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $528,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on 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 research note on Friday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on shares of Accenture from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, HSBC reduced their price objective on shares of Accenture from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.50.

Accenture Company Profile

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.