Kennon Green & Company LLC Increases Position in Adobe Inc. $ADBE

Key Points

• Kennon Green & Company increased its Adobe position by 39.8% in the third quarter to 18,045 shares valued at approximately $4.33 million. Institutional investors collectively own 81.79% of Adobe.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $282.68; Adobe also faces competitive pressure and uncertainty surrounding its CEO transition.
• Adobe exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $6.13 in adjusted EPS and $6.76 billion in revenue, up 12.9% year over year. The company’s buyback program, AI partnerships and relatively low valuation may support the stock, although recent insider selling is a concern.

Kennon Green & Company LLC lifted its position in Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE - Free Report) by 39.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,045 shares of the software company's stock after buying an additional 5,141 shares during the period. Adobe comprises 3.5% of Kennon Green & Company LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Kennon Green & Company LLC's holdings in Adobe were worth $4,330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Adobe in the second quarter valued at approximately $8,437,821,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Adobe in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,289,000. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Adobe in the 2nd quarter worth $2,647,000. Summit Global Investments bought a new position in Adobe during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,401,000. Finally, Silver Heights Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Adobe in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,242,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ADBE shares. Wolfe Research cut Adobe from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Citizens Jmp restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Adobe in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Bank of America upped their price target on Adobe from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Citigroup reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Adobe in a report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Adobe in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $282.68.

Key Adobe News

Here are the key news stories impacting Adobe this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large buyback authorization supports per-share earnings. Adobe reportedly has approximately $24.5 billion remaining for repurchases. It bought back 26.1 million shares for $6.82 billion in the first nine months through Aug. 28, reducing its diluted share count by about 7% year over year. Continued repurchases could support EPS and shareholder returns. Adobe Still Has $24.5 Billion Left for Buybacks
• Positive Sentiment: AI partnerships expand Adobe’s enterprise customer-experience opportunity. Collaborations with the NHL and Jet2 are putting Adobe’s Firefly, GenStudio and customer-experience tools into large-scale sports and travel marketing programs, providing potential validation and future growth for its AI offerings. Adobe Expanding AI CX With NHL and Jet2 Partnerships
• Positive Sentiment: Value-oriented investors may find the stock appealing. A Zacks analysis labeled Adobe a strong value stock, while the supplied metrics show a relatively modest earnings multiple and a PEG ratio below 1. These factors may provide downside support after the stock’s substantial retreat from its 52-week high. Why Adobe Is a Strong Value Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and investors continue to focus on Adobe’s digital-media positioning, AI monetization and capital-allocation strategy, but several same-day “stocks to watch” reports added little new company-specific information. Best Digital Media Stocks Worth Watching
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure and the CEO transition remain overhangs. Goldman Sachs maintained a “sell” rating as Anil Chakravarthy prepares to become CEO on Dec. 1, citing intensifying competition and new entrants in markets Adobe may want to expand into. Adobe Stock: Five Strategic Questions Into New Leadership

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Adobe news, CAO Jillian Forusz sold 416 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.33, for a total value of $109,961.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,824 shares in the company, valued at $1,010,797.92. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Shantanu Narayen sold 74,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.56, for a total value of $18,741,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 289,224 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $72,757,189.44. The trade was a 20.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 125,416 shares of company stock worth $31,454,466. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Adobe Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:ADBE traded up $1.10 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $238.79. The stock had a trading volume of 3,292,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,765,146. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $259.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $243.19. Adobe Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.12 and a 12 month high of $363.70. The company has a market cap of $92.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.33, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.42.

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 10th. The software company reported $6.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.08 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.69 billion. Adobe had a net margin of 28.05% and a return on equity of 65.65%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.31 EPS. Adobe has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 6.300-6.350 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 24.450-24.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Adobe Inc. will post 20.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Adobe Profile

Adobe Inc NASDAQ: ADBE is a global software company that develops tools for creating, managing, delivering and analyzing digital content. Its products serve creative professionals, marketers, enterprises, students and individual consumers across a broad range of industries and geographies.

Adobe's Creative Cloud portfolio includes applications such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, InDesign and Adobe Express for graphic design, photography, video, illustration and digital content creation.

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.