Short Interest in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) Expands By 24.1%

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ACN shares. Berenberg Bank began coverage on Accenture in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $313.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Accenture from $280.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Accenture from $330.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.50.

Accenture Stock Up 1.9%

ACN stock traded up $3.71 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $197.71. 4,501,222 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,925,342. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Accenture has a 12-month low of $177.50 and a 12-month high of $325.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $204.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $239.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.24.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.82 EPS. Accenture’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Accenture will post 12.73 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Catherine Kiernan Hogan sold 660 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.93, for a total value of $185,413.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,564,439.84. The trade was a 4.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.23, for a total value of $1,461,130.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at $3,679,963.65. This represents a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,331 shares of company stock worth $4,048,871. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Accenture

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 36.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $6,486,000 after acquiring an additional 4,905 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 46.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $618,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. United Bank increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 49.8% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 3,639 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,088,000 after acquiring an additional 1,209 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 23.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 828 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 4.2% in the 2nd 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 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.