Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Has $44.17 Million Stake in Adobe Inc. $ADBE

Key Points

• Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its Adobe position by 4.8% to 126,201 shares, valued at $44.17 million, and institutions now own about 81.79% of the stock.
• Adobe authorized a $25 billion buyback (up to 24.9% of shares), reported an earnings beat with solid guidance, and advanced its AI strategy including a new productivity agent and the Semrush acquisition—key positive catalysts.
• Countering those positives, insiders sold roughly $18.8 million of stock recently and analyst sentiment is mixed (consensus "Hold" with a $338.15 target), indicating near‑term skepticism and selling pressure.

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE - Free Report) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 126,201 shares of the software company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,834 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Adobe were worth $44,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ADBE. CX Institutional grew its stake in shares of Adobe by 72.9% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 27,922 shares of the software company's stock worth $9,849,000 after acquiring an additional 11,769 shares during the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. raised its stake in Adobe by 114.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 9,919 shares of the software company's stock valued at $3,499,000 after purchasing an additional 5,293 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in Adobe by 185.1% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 898,408 shares of the software company's stock valued at $316,913,000 after purchasing an additional 583,275 shares during the last quarter. Willis Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in Adobe by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 40,715 shares of the software company's stock valued at $14,250,000 after purchasing an additional 23,671 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Adobe by 43.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 106,598 shares of the software company's stock valued at $38,309,000 after purchasing an additional 32,448 shares during the period. 81.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ADBE shares. Robert W. Baird set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Adobe in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Adobe from $310.00 to $235.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Adobe in a report on Friday, March 13th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Adobe from $330.00 to $280.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Adobe from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, sixteen have given 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 target price of $338.15.

Key Headlines Impacting Adobe

Here are the key news stories impacting Adobe this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Adobe launched an AI “productivity agent” that integrates Acrobat document intelligence to create, summarize and share rich content — a clear product advancement that supports future growth in agentic AI use cases. Adobe’s New Productivity Agent Redefines How People Understand, Create and Share Information
• Positive Sentiment: Adobe finalized its acquisition of Semrush, bolstering capabilities for agentic AI-driven brand visibility and marketing data — strategic for Adobe Experience Cloud and adtech monetization. Adobe (ADBE) Finalizes Acquisition of Semrush Holdings to Power Agentic AI Brand Visibility
• Positive Sentiment: Management’s large $25 billion buyback program signals confidence and supports EPS/share metrics, a potential near-term floor for valuation as Adobe repurchases depressed shares. Adobe's $25 Billion Buyback Sends a Clear Signal. Yet Shares Remain Dirt Cheap.
• Neutral Sentiment: Adobe highlights India as a major innovation hub ( ~1/3 of global innovation, including Firefly) and sees vertical demand in fashion, travel and e‑commerce — positive for long-term product road map but not an immediate revenue catalyst. Firms fixing workflows before deploying agentic AI tools: Prativa Mohapatra, Adobe India
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro commentary on the AI/SaaS rotation notes both risk and opportunity — some analysts see recovery potential for select software names, but the sector remains volatile. The Same AI Wave Crushing SaaS Stocks May Be About to Rescue These 3 Names
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling (reported ~US$19M) and commentary suggesting insider hesitancy can spook investors and is being cited as a headwind. Adobe Insiders Sold US$19m Of Shares Suggesting Hesitancy
• Negative Sentiment: Short-term selling pressure and cautious headlines (including bearish takes comparing Adobe to a fading incumbent and noting a pullback after a rally) are pressuring the stock amid technical weakness. Adobe turns red: On track to log losses after six-session rally
• Negative Sentiment: Market coverage noting the stock “sinks” despite broader market gains reflects mixed analyst tone and may amplify selling momentum. Adobe Systems (ADBE) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: Here's Why

Adobe Stock Performance

NASDAQ ADBE opened at $250.17 on Thursday. Adobe Inc. has a twelve month low of $224.13 and a twelve month high of $422.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $101.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.57, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.42. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $250.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $295.55.

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The software company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.87 by $0.19. Adobe had a net margin of 29.48% and a return on equity of 64.48%. The firm had revenue of $6.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.08 earnings per share. The company'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. As a group, research analysts forecast that Adobe Inc. will post 19.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Adobe announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 21st that permits the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the software company to reacquire up to 24.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Daniel Durn sold 1,336 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 42,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,623,440.66. The trade was a 3.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Shantanu Narayen sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owned 359,538 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,561,884.52. This represents a 17.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 77,091 shares of company stock worth $18,782,773 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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