Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Sells 12,274 Shares of Adobe Inc. $ADBE

Key Points

• Chesley Taft & Associates cut its Adobe stake by 49.2%, selling 12,274 shares and retaining 12,693 shares valued at approximately $2.6 million. Institutional investors overall own 81.79% of Adobe.
• Adobe exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, posting $5.96 in EPS and $6.62 billion in revenue, with revenue up 12.7% year over year. The company also authorized a $25 billion share-buyback program.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $271.30. Investors continue to weigh Adobe’s strong fundamentals and AI opportunities against concerns about AI-driven disruption and competitive pressure.

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lessened its stake in Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE - Free Report) by 49.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,693 shares of the software company's stock after selling 12,274 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC's holdings in Adobe were worth $2,602,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nicholas Company Inc. lifted its stake in Adobe by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 174,626 shares of the software company's stock worth $61,117,000 after acquiring an additional 12,400 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in Adobe by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 215,611 shares of the software company's stock valued at $75,462,000 after purchasing an additional 25,435 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in Adobe by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 55,179 shares of the software company's stock valued at $19,312,000 after purchasing an additional 6,426 shares during the period. Orange Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Adobe by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Orange Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 29,541 shares of the software company's stock valued at $10,339,000 after purchasing an additional 5,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Milestone Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Adobe by 426.2% in the 4th quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 7,478 shares of the software company's stock worth $2,617,000 after purchasing an additional 6,057 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.79% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jillian Forusz sold 416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.33, for a total transaction of $109,961.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,010,797.92. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David A. Ricks acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $194.51 per share, with a total value of $1,945,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,434,074.05. This represents a 130.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ADBE shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Adobe from $270.00 to $230.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Adobe from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 12th. HSBC upgraded Adobe from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $282.00 to $308.00 in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. UBS Group downgraded Adobe from a "buy" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Adobe in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $271.30.

Adobe Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of Adobe stock opened at $265.21 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $228.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $247.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Adobe Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.12 and a 52-week high of $370.86. The company has a market cap of $105.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.17, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.40.

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 11th. The software company reported $5.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.82 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $6.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.45 billion. Adobe had a net margin of 28.69% and a return on equity of 65.11%. Adobe's revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.06 earnings per share. Adobe has set its FY 2026 guidance at 24.350-24.450 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 6.050-6.100 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Adobe Inc. will post 19.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Adobe News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Adobe this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Adobe launched a unified ChatGPT plug-in that brings more than 70 creative and productivity tools—including Photoshop, Lightroom, Acrobat, image, video and PDF capabilities—directly into OpenAI’s chatbot. The integration could make Adobe’s products easier to access, expand usage and position the company as an AI enabler rather than an AI casualty. Adobe Debuts ChatGPT App Featuring All Its Programs
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights Adobe’s valuation after its sharp sell-off. The company is still producing double-digit revenue growth, stable margins and substantial free cash flow, while its latest quarterly results exceeded earnings and revenue expectations. A recovery in investor sentiment or a valuation re-rating could provide significant upside. Buy the Dip or Run: 3 Software Stocks Down 50% Face Their Moment of Truth
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks characterized ADBE as both a long-term growth candidate and a strong value stock, reflecting its depressed valuation relative to historical levels and continuing earnings potential. Why Adobe Systems Is a Top Growth Stock for the Long-Term
• Neutral Sentiment: Akamai’s strong cloud and security results offer an indirect positive signal because Adobe is among its customers, but the report does not provide new information about Adobe’s financial performance. Akamai Beats Quarterly Estimates on Cloud Infrastructure Demand
• Negative Sentiment: Adobe remains one of the software companies targeted by AI-disruption concerns. AI-native competitors could pressure pricing, customer retention and growth, and promotional commentary warns of insider selling, talent departures and business-model changes. These claims are not confirmed in the supplied reporting, but they underscore the key risk investors are monitoring. These Are the Four Signs a Company Is About to Be Destroyed by AI

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.

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source