John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Adobe Inc. $ADBE

Key Points

• John G Ullman & Associates Inc. cut its Adobe stake by 72.6% in the first quarter, reducing holdings to 3,250 shares worth about $790,000.
• Institutional ownership of Adobe remains high at 81.79%, and recent filings show mixed activity: some funds added shares while Adobe’s CAO sold stock and Director David A. Ricks bought 10,000 shares.
• Adobe recently beat earnings and revenue estimates and authorized a $25 billion share buyback, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average target price of $275.

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. lessened its position in shares of Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE - Free Report) by 72.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,250 shares of the software company's stock after selling 8,595 shares during the quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Adobe were worth $790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Willis Investment Counsel raised its stake in Adobe by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 40,715 shares of the software company's stock worth $14,250,000 after acquiring an additional 23,671 shares during the last quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. grew its stake in Adobe by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 174,626 shares of the software company's stock valued at $61,117,000 after purchasing an additional 12,400 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of Adobe by 13.4% in the fourth 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 holdings in shares of Adobe by 13.2% in the fourth 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. Finally, True North Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Adobe by 301.1% in the fourth quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 6,493 shares of the software company's stock worth $2,273,000 after purchasing an additional 4,874 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.79% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Adobe

Here are the key news stories impacting Adobe this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports highlight Adobe’s attractive valuation, with some investors viewing the selloff as creating a buying opportunity and even raising the possibility that the company could become a takeover target. Is Adobe (ADBE) a Takeover Target? Rumors Are Swirling
• Positive Sentiment: Adobe was compared favorably with Autodesk on revenue trends, with Adobe showing larger scale and consistent quarter-over-quarter growth over the last eight quarters, which supports the case for durable business momentum. Adobe vs. Autodesk: What Revenue Trends Reveal About These Software Stocks
• Positive Sentiment: Several pieces frame Adobe as a potential beneficiary of the market’s reassessment of software stocks, arguing that AI is pressuring recurring-revenue models but that strong companies like Adobe are adapting and may emerge as relative winners. How to Find the Bargains in the Software Stock Wreckage
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary on Adobe’s “compelling valuation” and “generational buying opportunity” suggests investors are increasingly seeing the stock as undervalued despite intensifying competition. Adobe: Compelling Valuation Even Amid Intensifying Competition
• Positive Sentiment: Broader software-sector analysis also points to Adobe as having real competitive moats that AI may not easily replace, reinforcing confidence in the company’s long-term positioning. Alpha Buying: The Real Moats AI Can't Replace
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional coverage on e-commerce and digital media trends mentions Adobe’s AI-related efforts, including its acquisition of Rephrase.AI, but the article is more about industry innovation than a direct catalyst for the stock. E-Commerce Update - AI Transforming Digital Retail Through Innovation and Connectivity
• Negative Sentiment: One article noted that an open-source browser-based PDF toolkit can replace Adobe Acrobat, highlighting ongoing competitive pressure in one of Adobe’s core product areas. I replaced Adobe Acrobat with a 10x faster, browser-based open-source PDF toolkit

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Adobe news, CAO Jillian Forusz sold 755 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.25, for a total transaction of $185,918.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,521 shares in the company, valued at approximately $867,046.25. This represents a 17.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David A. Ricks purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $194.51 per share, for a total transaction of $1,945,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,655 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,434,074.05. This represents a 130.63% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold 77,091 shares of company stock valued at $18,782,773 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADBE has been the subject of a number of research reports. William Blair downgraded Adobe from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Adobe in a report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Adobe from $420.00 to $340.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen cut Adobe from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Adobe from $447.00 to $379.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Adobe currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $275.00.

Adobe Stock Performance

ADBE opened at $237.25 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $228.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $256.19. Adobe Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.12 and a 1 year high of $376.16. The stock has a market cap of $94.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 11th. The software company reported $5.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.82 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $6.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.45 billion. Adobe had a net margin of 28.69% and a return on equity of 65.11%. The firm's revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Adobe Inc. will post 19.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Adobe declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 21st that allows the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the software company to buy up to 24.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors 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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