Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Stake in Accenture PLC $ACN

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,050,483 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 295,762 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Accenture were worth $1,738,649,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,315,548 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Accenture by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,016,605 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $8,373,925,000 after purchasing an additional 326,979 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised 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 worth $4,223,839,000 after purchasing an additional 4,984,930 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Accenture by 1.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,042,843 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $4,182,331,000 after purchasing an additional 147,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Accenture by 12.8% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,147,796 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,502,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148,970 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ACN. UBS Group downgraded Accenture from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Argus cut their price target on Accenture from $370.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Accenture from $251.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. 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, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $289.50.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 6,057 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $3,679,963.65. This trade represents a 28.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Catherine Kiernan Hogan sold 660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.93, for a total transaction of $185,413.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,688 shares in the company, valued at $3,564,439.84. This trade represents a 4.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 22,088 shares of company stock valued at $5,970,434. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Accenture

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Truist kept a Buy rating on ACN and the new $260 price target still implies material upside versus the current share price, which may limit downside and attract value hunters. Analyst Target Adjustments Hit Accenture (ACN), Thomson Reuters (TRI) and TELUS (TU)
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage consensus remains modestly positive — recent surveys show an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy,” suggesting analysts still see multi?quarter recovery potential despite near?term headwinds. Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry write?ups (Forbes) compare Accenture favorably in digital transformation versus peers, which supports longer?term positioning even as the stock lags year?to?date. Why Is Accenture Outperforming Its Peer Group?
• Negative Sentiment: Truist cut its price target from $317 to $260, citing stagnant enterprise AI demand and potential downside to fiscal?2027 consensus — a direct signal that expectations for growth from AI projects may be moderating. That revision is likely a primary driver of today’s weakness. Analyst Target Adjustments Hit Accenture (ACN), Thomson Reuters (TRI) and TELUS (TU)
• Negative Sentiment: Media reports that Accenture is tying senior?manager promotions to internal AI tool adoption have raised concerns about workforce resilience and whether productivity gains will materialize as expected — a reputational and execution risk that may amplify short?term selling. Assessing Accenture (ACN) Valuation As AI Tool Adoption Becomes A Factor In Senior Manager Promotions
• Negative Sentiment: Market headlines and stock?move rundowns (Yahoo/Zacks) noting the share decline have likely prompted momentum selling and increased intraday volatility. Accenture (ACN) Stock Slides as Market Rises: Facts to Know Before You Trade

Accenture Price Performance

Accenture stock opened at $201.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.64, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.27. Accenture PLC has a one year low of $188.73 and a one year high of $334.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.41. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $246.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $249.91.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $18.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.51 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.65% and a net margin of 10.76%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.59 EPS. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 13th. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.88%.

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.