Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Purchases 9,973 Shares of Adobe Inc. $ADBE

Key Points

• Applied Finance Capital Management increased its Adobe stake by 12% in the fourth quarter, buying 9,973 more shares and bringing its holdings to 92,754 shares worth about $32.5 million.
• Adobe continues to attract significant institutional interest, with hedge funds like Arrowstreet, Dodge & Cox, and AQR also boosting positions; overall, 81.79% of the stock is owned by institutions and hedge funds.
• Despite mixed analyst sentiment and recent insider selling, Adobe posted a strong quarter with EPS of $6.06 and revenue of $6.40 billion, while also authorizing a $25 billion share repurchase program.

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE - Free Report) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 92,754 shares of the software company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,973 shares during the period. Adobe accounts for about 2.3% of Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's holdings in Adobe were worth $32,463,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ADBE. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Adobe by 53.3% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,617,145 shares of the software company's stock worth $1,981,448,000 after acquiring an additional 1,952,994 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox raised its holdings in Adobe by 8,006.6% in the third quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 1,593,506 shares of the software company's stock valued at $562,109,000 after buying an additional 1,573,849 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Adobe by 55.2% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,587,399 shares of the software company's stock valued at $912,705,000 after purchasing an additional 920,353 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Adobe by 17.9% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 4,888,283 shares of the software company's stock valued at $1,711,583,000 after purchasing an additional 742,646 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Adobe by 112.6% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,341,410 shares of the software company's stock valued at $469,467,000 after purchasing an additional 710,357 shares during the period. 81.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADBE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating on shares of Adobe in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Adobe from $420.00 to $405.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 9th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Adobe from $290.00 to $260.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. Barclays cut shares of Adobe from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $335.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Mizuho restated a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price objective (down from $315.00) on shares of Adobe in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus 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 that occurred on 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 owned 42,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Jillian Forusz sold 755 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was 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 owned 3,521 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $867,046.25. This trade represents a 17.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 77,091 shares of company stock valued at $18,782,773. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Adobe News

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

Adobe Price Performance

NASDAQ ADBE opened at $247.60 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $247.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $290.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $100.08 billion, a PE ratio of 14.42, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.42. Adobe Inc. has a 1 year low of $224.13 and a 1 year high of $422.95.

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The software company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.87 by $0.19. Adobe had a return on equity of 64.48% and a net margin of 29.48%.The firm had revenue of $6.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.08 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter 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, analysts predict that Adobe Inc. will post 19.14 EPS for the current year.

Adobe declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 21st that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software company to purchase up to 24.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About Adobe

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ADBE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.