Barr E S & Co. Purchases 5,891 Shares of Adobe Inc. $ADBE

Barr E S & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 61,067 shares of the software company’s stock after buying an additional 5,891 shares during the quarter. Adobe comprises approximately 1.1% of Barr E S & Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Barr E S & Co.’s holdings in Adobe were worth $21,373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Adobe by 185.1% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 898,408 shares of the software company’s stock worth $316,913,000 after buying an additional 583,275 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in Adobe by 138.9% during the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 40,715 shares of the software company’s stock worth $14,250,000 after buying an additional 23,671 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Adobe by 43.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 106,598 shares of the software company’s stock worth $38,309,000 after buying an additional 32,448 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Adobe by 112.6% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,341,410 shares of the software company’s stock worth $469,467,000 after buying an additional 710,357 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Adobe during the 3rd quarter worth about $24,904,000. 81.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Adobe Stock Performance

Shares of Adobe stock opened at $247.60 on Friday. Adobe Inc. has a one year low of $224.13 and a one year high of $422.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $247.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $290.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The software company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.87 by $0.19. Adobe had a return on equity of 64.48% and a net margin of 29.48%.The business had revenue of $6.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Adobe has set its FY 2026 guidance at 23.300-23.500 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 5.800-5.850 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Adobe Inc. will post 19.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Adobe announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software company to purchase up to 24.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Adobe News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Adobe this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Social media and market commentary point to a sector rotation from semiconductors into software, with Adobe among the leaders, as traders buy into a rebound for established SaaS and creative-tools names. Adobe Stock (ADBE) Opinions on Sector Rotation to Software
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors highlighted Adobe as potentially undervalued after months of pressure, citing strong profitability and AI features such as Firefly and Acrobat AI Assistant as reasons the company can keep growing despite AI-related fears. Is Generative AI Expanding Adobe’s Digital Media Opportunity?
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage around Adobe’s latest AI product push, including the new Acrobat productivity agent, reinforces the company’s strategy to embed generative AI across its workflow tools, which could support longer-term revenue growth. Adobe (ADBE) Expands Its Agentic AI Push With New Acrobat Productivity Agent
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent articles and reviews emphasize competitive pressure and user dissatisfaction with Adobe’s products, while insider selling and heavy hedge fund trimming may keep sentiment cautious even after the rebound. Adobe was overkill for the editing I actually do, and that’s what finally made me leave

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADBE has been the topic of several recent research reports. KeyCorp cut their target price on Adobe from $310.00 to $235.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Adobe from $420.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 9th. Barclays downgraded Adobe from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $335.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Adobe from $400.00 to $290.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Adobe from $375.00 to $285.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $338.15.

Insider Activity at Adobe

In related news, CFO Daniel Durn sold 1,336 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.02, for a total value of $331,354.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 42,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,623,440.66. The trade was a 3.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Jillian Forusz sold 755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.25, for a total value of $185,918.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,521 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,046.25. The trade was a 17.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 77,091 shares of company stock valued at $18,782,773 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Adobe Company Profile

Adobe Inc, founded in 1982 by John Warnock and Charles Geschke and headquartered in San Jose, California, is a global software company that develops tools and services for creative professionals, marketers and enterprises. Under the leadership of CEO Shantanu Narayen, who has led the company since 2007, Adobe has evolved from a provider of desktop publishing tools into a cloud-centric provider of digital media and digital experience solutions.

The company’s core offerings are organized around digital media and digital experience.