Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 5,949 Shares of Adobe Inc. $ADBE

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its Adobe stake by 1.1% in the first quarter, buying 5,949 more shares and bringing its total holding to 542,100 shares worth about $131.8 million.
• Institutional ownership in Adobe remains very high at 81.79%, with several other major funds also adding to positions during recent quarters.
• Analysts are mixed on Adobe: the stock currently carries a “Hold” consensus rating, though the company recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates and authorized a $25 billion share buyback.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE - Free Report) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 542,100 shares of the software company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,949 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Adobe worth $131,774,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Adobe by 1.7% during 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Adobe by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,531,678 shares of the software company's stock worth $4,027,170,000 after buying an additional 414,049 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Adobe during the 4th quarter valued at $2,275,165,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Adobe by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,228,503 shares of the software company's stock valued at $2,179,914,000 after acquiring an additional 611,358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Adobe by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,119,025 shares of the software company's stock valued at $1,791,607,000 after acquiring an additional 297,337 shares during the period. 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 analyst reports. Dbs Bank cut Adobe from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. KeyCorp cut their target price on Adobe from $235.00 to $195.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Adobe from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. UBS Group set a $365.00 price target on shares of Adobe in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Adobe from $310.00 to $285.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $275.00.

More Adobe News

Here are the key news stories impacting Adobe this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Adobe is drawing bullish attention after reports that AI-first net new annualized recurring revenue is running at roughly 3x last year’s level, and that the company is acquiring Topaz Labs to deepen its AI-powered creative tools. Adobe (ADBE) Buys Topaz Labs As AI Revenue Runs At 3x Prior Year
• Positive Sentiment: Several technical and momentum-focused notes point to improving trading sentiment, including a breakout above the 50-day moving average and a Zacks ranking that flags Adobe as a top momentum stock. Adobe Systems (ADBE) Recently Broke Out Above the 50-Day Moving Average
• Positive Sentiment: Industry research highlighting fast-growing demand for content intelligence and generative AI could support Adobe’s long-term growth narrative, especially given its role in enterprise content creation and management. Content Intelligence Market to Reach $39.88 Billion by 2035 as Generative AI Transforms Enterprise Content Operations
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary from Adobe’s CMO about AI changing brand discovery underscores the company’s strategic relevance in AI-driven marketing, but it is more of a narrative update than a direct financial catalyst. Adobe CMO Lara Balazs Says AI Is Rewriting Brand Discovery
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst-style pieces argue Adobe’s AI growth is helping challenge the bear case, but the articles are largely opinion-based and do not add new hard numbers. Adobe’s (ADBE) AI Growth Challenges the Bear Case
• Negative Sentiment: Software stocks, including Adobe, came under pressure after IBM warned on revenue, raising concern that enterprise customers may be tightening software budgets to fund other IT spending. IBM Warning Hits Software Stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Another market-wrap article noted Adobe trading lower alongside peers after the IBM warning, reinforcing worries about enterprise spending and near-term demand for software vendors. Adobe, ServiceNow, and Appian Stocks Trade Down, What You Need To Know
• Negative Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha piece questions whether Adobe’s creativity and AI strategy are enough to justify the stock’s valuation, suggesting some investors still see upside limits. Adobe: Creativity Is Necessary To Justify The Stock Price

Insider Transactions at Adobe

In other Adobe news, CAO Jillian Forusz sold 755 shares of Adobe stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.25, for a total transaction of $185,918.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,521 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $867,046.25. The trade was a 17.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David A. Ricks acquired 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $194.51 per share, for a total transaction of $1,945,100.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 17,655 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,434,074.05. This trade represents a 130.63% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 77,091 shares of company stock valued at $18,782,773 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Adobe Stock Performance

Shares of Adobe stock opened at $224.56 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $229.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $257.16. Adobe Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.12 and a 52 week high of $376.16.

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 11th. The software company reported $5.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.82 by $0.14. Adobe had a net margin of 28.69% and a return on equity of 65.11%. The company had revenue of $6.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.06 EPS. Adobe's revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Adobe has set its FY 2026 guidance at 24.350-24.450 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 6.050-6.100 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Adobe Inc. will post 19.81 EPS for the current year.

Adobe announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 21st that allows the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the software company to purchase up to 24.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication 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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