Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) Short Interest Up 24.1% in March

Key Points

• Short interest rose 24.1% in March to 18,236,022 shares (about 2.7% of shares outstanding) with a days-to-cover ratio of 1.9.
• Accenture beat Q results, reporting $2.93 EPS vs. $2.84 consensus and revenue of $18.04 billion, up 7.8% year‑over‑year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.63 ($6.52 annual), a ~3.4% yield, with an ex‑dividend date of April 9 and payment on May 15.

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of 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. Based on an average trading volume of 9,353,847 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days. Currently, 2.7% of the company's shares are short sold.

Accenture Stock Up 0.0%

ACN stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Thursday, reaching $194.02. 3,293,743 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,495,890. The firm's 50 day moving average is $205.84 and its 200 day moving average is $240.56. Accenture has a twelve month low of $177.50 and a twelve month high of $325.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $129.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.24.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.09. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 10.61%.The business had revenue of $18.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.82 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Accenture will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors 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 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Accenture's dividend payout ratio is 53.40%.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,255 shares in the company, valued at $3,679,963.65. This trade represents a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Catherine Kiernan Hogan sold 660 shares of the firm's 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 owned 12,688 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,564,439.84. This trade represents a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 15,331 shares of company stock valued at $4,048,871 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Accenture

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in Accenture during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Accenture during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. McMillan Office Inc. bought a new stake in Accenture during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Accenture during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Investors Research Corp increased its holdings in Accenture by 73.8% during the 3rd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 106 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ACN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Accenture from $243.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Accenture from $295.00 to $253.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on Accenture from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Berenberg Bank started 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. Finally, Argus dropped their price objective on Accenture from $370.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $274.50.

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.

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