Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Trading 7.1% Higher Following Earnings Beat

Shares of Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) were up 7.1% during trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $376.91 and last traded at $372.12. Approximately 2,306,891 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 14% from the average daily volume of 2,677,619 shares. The stock had previously closed at $347.61.

The information technology services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.43 by $0.16. Accenture had a net margin of 11.20% and a return on equity of 26.83%. The company had revenue of $17.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.27 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 16th will be issued a $1.48 dividend. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.79%.

Accenture declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 26th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho increased their price target on Accenture from $352.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Accenture from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Accenture from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $375.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Accenture from $377.00 to $389.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Accenture from $400.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Accenture currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $374.50.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In other news, CEO Ryoji Sekido sold 3,191 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.70, for a total value of $1,096,746.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,062.20. This trade represents a 99.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 8,136 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $362.07, for a total transaction of $2,945,801.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,412,909.16. The trade was a 40.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 36,298 shares of company stock valued at $13,372,661 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Accenture

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Accenture during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Accenture during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Accenture during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Accenture by 607.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 99 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Accenture in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Accenture Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $231.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.45, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50-day moving average is $360.14 and its 200-day moving average is $336.31.

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.