Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Holdings in Adobe Inc. $ADBE

Key Points

• Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its Adobe stake by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 86,310 shares and ending with 1,970,098 shares worth about $689.5 million.
• Other institutional investors were mixed on Adobe: some, like Erste Asset Management and Krane Funds Advisors, sharply increased their holdings, while hedge funds still own a large 81.79% of the company.
• Analysts remain cautious overall, with Adobe carrying a Hold consensus rating and a $331.65 price target, even as the company recently beat earnings and approved a $25 billion share repurchase plan.

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its stake in Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE - Free Report) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,970,098 shares of the software company's stock after selling 86,310 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.48% of Adobe worth $689,514,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ADBE. Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in Adobe by 82.3% during the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 339,193 shares of the software company's stock worth $119,497,000 after acquiring an additional 153,142 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Adobe by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 262,757 shares of the software company's stock worth $91,962,000 after purchasing an additional 46,460 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Adobe by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 55,138 shares of the software company's stock worth $19,298,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Adobe by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 2,642 shares of the software company's stock worth $925,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Krane Funds Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Adobe by 118.8% in the fourth quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC now owns 9,999 shares of the software company's stock valued at $3,500,000 after buying an additional 5,430 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.79% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADBE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Adobe in a report on Monday, April 13th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Adobe in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Adobe from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Adobe from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Adobe from $253.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $331.65.

Insider Transactions at Adobe

In other Adobe 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 transaction of $331,354.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 42,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,623,440.66. The trade was a 3.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Shantanu Narayen sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.54, for a total value of $18,265,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 359,538 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,561,884.52. This trade represents a 17.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 77,091 shares of company stock worth $18,782,773 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Adobe News

Here are the key news stories impacting Adobe this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Adobe is one of the key earnings names to watch this week, with implied volatility likely to stay elevated as investors brace for a post-earnings move. Earnings Volatility Watch: Oracle, Adobe And 8 Stocks Set For Big Swings This Week
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street is focused on Adobe’s upcoming quarterly results and key operating metrics, with analysts looking beyond revenue and EPS for signs of business momentum. Curious about Adobe (ADBE) Q2 Performance? Explore Wall Street Estimates for Key Metrics
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary says Adobe’s shares are near a key test area before earnings, reflecting concern that the stock could remain range-bound until management provides a clearer outlook. Adobe Stock Struggling with Pressure Ahead of Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also weighing Adobe’s valuation and whether buybacks alone can support the stock if growth remains under pressure. Adobe: Buybacks Are The Only Answer In Upcoming Earnings (Rating Downgrade)
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish articles highlight Adobe’s recent weakness, its year-to-date decline, and concerns that competition in AI-powered creative software could keep sentiment fragile into earnings. Adobe (ADBE) Stock Faces Critical Q2 Earnings Test Amid 29% YTD Decline
• Negative Sentiment: Another note says Adobe stock has formed a risky pattern and could sell off further after results if the company fails to reassure investors about growth. Cheap Adobe stock has formed a risky pattern: will it crash after earnings?

Adobe Stock Down 2.6%

Adobe stock opened at $244.99 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.42. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $245.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $281.00. Adobe Inc. has a twelve month low of $224.13 and a twelve month high of $419.82.

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $6.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. Adobe had a return on equity of 64.48% and a net margin of 29.48%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.08 earnings per share. Adobe has set its FY 2026 guidance at 23.300-23.500 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 5.800-5.850 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Adobe Inc. will post 19.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Adobe announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 21st that allows the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software company to buy up to 24.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Adobe 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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