Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Stake in Adobe Inc. $ADBE

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its Adobe stake by 2.7% in Q4, bringing its holdings to 159,867 shares worth about $55.95 million.
• Several other major institutional investors also added to their positions, and 81.79% of Adobe’s stock is now held by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Adobe’s board approved a $25 billion share buyback, while analysts remain mixed overall with a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $338.15.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 159,867 shares of the software company's stock after buying an additional 4,181 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Adobe were worth $55,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Adobe by 0.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,369,395 shares of the software company's stock valued at $14,593,054,000 after buying an additional 344,816 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Adobe by 1.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,632,009 shares of the software company's stock valued at $7,277,941,000 after buying an additional 352,448 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Adobe by 53.3% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,617,145 shares of the software company's stock valued at $1,981,448,000 after buying an additional 1,952,994 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Adobe by 17.9% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 4,888,283 shares of the software company's stock valued at $1,711,583,000 after buying an additional 742,646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Adobe by 9.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,821,688 shares of the software company's stock worth $1,700,850,000 after purchasing an additional 414,526 shares in the last quarter. 81.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on ADBE. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Adobe from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Adobe from $375.00 to $285.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Adobe from $400.00 to $290.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Adobe from $420.00 to $405.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $338.15.

Insider Activity at Adobe

In related news, CEO Shantanu Narayen sold 75,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 359,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,561,884.52. This represents a 17.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jillian Forusz sold 755 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,521 shares of the company's stock, valued at $867,046.25. The trade was a 17.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 77,091 shares of company stock worth $18,782,773. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Adobe Stock Performance

NASDAQ ADBE opened at $255.64 on Tuesday. Adobe Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $224.13 and a fifty-two week high of $422.95. The stock has a market cap of $103.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a fifty day moving average of $247.40 and a 200-day moving average of $289.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $5.87 by $0.19. Adobe had a return on equity of 64.48% and a net margin of 29.48%.The company had revenue of $6.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.08 earnings per share. The business'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, analysts predict that Adobe Inc. will post 19.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

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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