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

Key Points

• Barr E S & Co. increased its Adobe stake by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, adding 5,891 shares to bring its total to 61,067 shares worth about $21.37 million.
• Adobe’s latest quarter topped expectations, with EPS of $6.06 and revenue of $6.40 billion, while the company also issued FY2026 guidance and highlighted continued growth in profitability.
• Sentiment on the stock is mixed: several analysts cut price targets and ratings, while Adobe’s board authorized a $25 billion share buyback that could repurchase up to 24.9% of shares outstanding.

Barr E S & Co. raised its holdings in Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE - Free Report) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,067 shares of the software company's stock after buying an additional 5,891 shares during the period. Adobe comprises approximately 1.1% of Barr E S & Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Barr E S & Co.'s holdings in Adobe were worth $21,373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ADBE. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new stake in Adobe in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in Adobe in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new stake in Adobe in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in Adobe in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Beacon Financial Strategies CORP bought a new stake in Adobe in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 81.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADBE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Adobe from $425.00 to $365.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings cut Adobe from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Adobe in a report on Friday, March 13th. Barclays cut Adobe from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $335.00 to $275.00 in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price target on Adobe from $310.00 to $235.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $338.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Shantanu Narayen sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.54, for a total transaction of $18,265,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 359,538 shares in the company, valued at $87,561,884.52. The trade was a 17.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jillian Forusz sold 755 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,521 shares in the company, valued at $867,046.25. This represents a 17.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 77,091 shares of company stock worth $18,782,773 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Adobe Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ADBE opened at $247.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $100.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.42, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $247.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $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. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The software company reported $6.06 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $6.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.08 EPS. The firm'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. Research analysts anticipate that Adobe Inc. will post 19.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Adobe announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 21st that permits the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the software company to reacquire up to 24.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Key Stories Impacting Adobe

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 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.

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