Danske Bank A S Buys New Holdings in Accenture PLC $ACN

Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 392,800 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $96,864,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Accenture by 2.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,129,782 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $19,466,641,000 after buying an additional 1,315,548 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Accenture by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,135,065 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $6,938,156,000 after acquiring an additional 118,460 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Accenture by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,128,134 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,223,839,000 after acquiring an additional 4,984,930 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Accenture by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,147,796 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,502,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,148,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC lifted its stake in Accenture by 9.0% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 9,615,366 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,371,149,000 after purchasing an additional 790,580 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Accenture Stock Down 0.3%

ACN opened at $198.73 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $239.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $247.84. Accenture PLC has a 52 week low of $188.73 and a 52 week high of $326.73. The company has a market cap of $122.34 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.21. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.65% and a net margin of 10.76%.The business had revenue of $18.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 13th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is 53.88%.

Insider Activity

In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,026 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.70, for a total value of $289,024.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 27,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,656,887.70. The trade was a 3.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 3,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.01, for a total transaction of $1,008,263.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,298,380.79. This represents a 30.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 22,088 shares of company stock worth $5,970,434 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Accenture

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Accenture and Databricks announced a partnership to accelerate enterprise adoption of AI applications and agents at scale — a strategic tie-up that can drive higher‑margin AI services and platform initiatives. Accenture and Databricks Accelerate Enterprise Adoption of AI Applications and Agents at Scale
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture completed the acquisition of UK AI firm Faculty and named its CEO Dr. Marc Warner as Accenture CTO — a capability‑building move that strengthens the company’s AI bench and go‑to‑market for advanced AI services. Accenture Completes Acquisition of Faculty
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture inked a six‑year partnership as Official Business & Technology Consulting Partner of The R&A (golf), which supports brand, commercial and industry visibility — a modest but positive commercial win. Accenture Named Official Partner of Leading Golf Governing Body, The R&A
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street previews and earnings previews point to continued revenue and EPS growth in fiscal Q2 (y/y revenue seen rising ~6–7%), making the upcoming results a key near‑term catalyst. Accenture Set to Report Q2 Earnings: Here’s What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst models and metric previews (Zacks/Yahoo) provide detail on bookings, margins and headcount trends investors will focus on in Q2 — these data points will drive sentiment more than headlines. Insights Into Accenture (ACN) Q2: Wall Street Projections for Key Metrics
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley flagged that Accenture might raise the low end of its 2026 revenue outlook despite mixed demand — a signal that management could tweak guidance, which would influence near‑term expectations. Accenture May Raise Low End of 2026 Revenue Outlook Despite Weak Demand, Morgan Stanley Says
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley cut its price target on ACN from $320 to $240 while keeping an Overweight rating, citing weaker bookings and a talent shift — the PT cut reduces upside expectations and likely pressured the stock. Morgan Stanley Updates Accenture (ACN) View on Weak Bookings and Talent Shift
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst commentary and a Zacks piece note that while ACN looks cheaper on valuation and is doubling down on GenAI, weak recent price performance and rising talent costs create investor uncertainty about near‑term returns. Is Accenture’s Cheap Valuation Reason Enough to Invest in the Stock?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Accenture from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Accenture from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Accenture from $317.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Piper Sandler set a $282.00 target price on Accenture in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.19.

Accenture 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.