Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Purchases 18,323 Shares of Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC lifted its position in shares of Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) by 141.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,314 shares of the software company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,323 shares during the quarter. Adobe makes up about 1.5% of Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Adobe were worth $18,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Adobe during the third quarter worth about $25,000. HBC Financial Services PLLC acquired a new position in shares of Adobe in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in Adobe by 57.6% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 52 shares of the software company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new stake in Adobe during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Halpern Financial Inc. raised its position in Adobe by 314.3% in the 3rd quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 58 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.79% of the company’s stock.

Adobe Stock Performance

Shares of Adobe stock opened at $504.60 on Friday. Adobe Inc. has a 12 month low of $331.89 and a 12 month high of $638.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $228.36 billion, a PE ratio of 48.24, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $571.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $571.10.

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The software company reported $4.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.38 by $0.10. Adobe had a return on equity of 39.12% and a net margin of 24.08%. The company had revenue of $5.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.97 earnings per share. Adobe’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Adobe Inc. will post 14.57 EPS for the current year.

Adobe announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 14th that allows the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software company to repurchase up to 10.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider David Wadhwani sold 6,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.77, for a total value of $3,487,225.23. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,353,456.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Adobe news, CAO Mark S. Garfield sold 84 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.99, for a total transaction of $49,727.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,400,519.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider David Wadhwani sold 6,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.77, for a total transaction of $3,487,225.23. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,353,456.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,162 shares of company stock worth $5,340,250. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on ADBE. Piper Sandler Companies decreased their target price on Adobe from $705.00 to $700.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Adobe from $600.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 15th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of Adobe in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Adobe from $690.00 to $675.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Adobe from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $620.72.

Adobe Company Profile

Adobe Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified software company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Digital Media, Digital Experience, and Publishing and Advertising. The Digital Media segment offers products, services, and solutions that enable individuals, teams, and enterprises to create, publish, and promote content; and Document Cloud, a unified cloud-based document services platform.