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Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 20,315 Shares of Adobe Inc. $ADBE

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Key Points

  • Empowered Funds increased its Adobe position by 28.4% in the first quarter, purchasing 20,315 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 91,759 shares valued at approximately $22.3 million. Institutional investors own 81.79% of Adobe.
  • Adobe’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $5.96 and revenue of $6.62 billion, up 12.7% year over year. The company also authorized a $25 billion share-buyback program, covering up to 24.9% of outstanding shares.
  • Despite recent earnings strength and positive enterprise-software sentiment, analysts remain cautious: Adobe has a consensus “Hold” rating, with an average price target of $271.30 after several firms lowered their targets.
  • Five stocks to consider instead of Adobe.

Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE - Free Report) by 28.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 91,759 shares of the software company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,315 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Adobe were worth $22,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ADBE. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new stake in Adobe during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in Adobe in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Adobe by 72.3% in the 4th quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 81 shares of the software company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. TrustBank purchased a new stake in Adobe during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new stake in Adobe during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 81.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Adobe news, CAO Jillian Forusz sold 755 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.25, for a total value of $185,918.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,521 shares in the company, valued at $867,046.25. This represents a 17.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David A. Ricks purchased 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $194.51 per share, with a total value of $1,945,100.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 17,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,434,074.05. This trade represents a 130.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Key Adobe News

Here are the key news stories impacting Adobe this week:

Adobe Stock Up 4.8%

ADBE stock opened at $249.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $226.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $249.96. Adobe Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.12 and a twelve month high of $376.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.05 billion, a PE ratio of 14.26, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.43. 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 (NASDAQ:ADBE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 11th. The software company reported $5.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.82 by $0.14. Adobe had a net margin of 28.69% and a return on equity of 65.11%. The firm had revenue of $6.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.06 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. 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, equities analysts predict that Adobe Inc. will post 19.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Adobe from $290.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "hold" rating and set a $200.00 price target (down from $350.00) on shares of Adobe in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Adobe from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Adobe from $270.00 to $230.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of Adobe from $447.00 to $379.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Adobe presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $271.30.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Adobe

Adobe Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE)

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.

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