Saturna Capital Corp Sells 57,995 Shares of Adobe Inc. $ADBE

Key Points

• Saturna Capital Corp cut its Adobe stake by 25.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 57,995 shares and leaving it with 165,650 shares valued at about $57.98 million.
• Adobe reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with $6.06 EPS on $6.40 billion in revenue, and revenue rose 12% year over year.
• The company’s board approved a $25 billion share repurchase program, while analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $331.65.

Saturna Capital Corp lowered its position in Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE - Free Report) by 25.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 165,650 shares of the software company's stock after selling 57,995 shares during the period. Saturna Capital Corp's holdings in Adobe were worth $57,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ADBE. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Adobe in the fourth quarter worth $2,275,165,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Adobe by 53.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,952,994 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox lifted its position in Adobe by 8,006.6% during the third quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 1,593,506 shares of the software company's stock valued at $562,109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,573,849 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Adobe by 55.2% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,587,399 shares of the software company's stock valued at $912,705,000 after purchasing an additional 920,353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in Adobe by 17.9% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 4,888,283 shares of the software company's stock valued at $1,711,583,000 after purchasing an additional 742,646 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.79% of the company's stock.

Adobe Price Performance

Shares of Adobe stock opened at $233.38 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $245.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $279.88. Adobe Inc. has a 52 week low of $224.13 and a 52 week high of $416.39. The company has a market capitalization of $94.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.42. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The software company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.87 by $0.19. Adobe had a return on equity of 64.48% and a net margin of 29.48%.The business had revenue of $6.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.08 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Adobe Inc. will post 19.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Adobe announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 21st that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software company to repurchase up to 24.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Summit Redstone set a $350.00 target price on Adobe in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Adobe from $425.00 to $365.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $280.00 target price on shares of Adobe in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. William Blair downgraded Adobe from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Adobe from $290.00 to $260.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Adobe has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $331.65.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Shantanu Narayen sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 359,538 shares in the company, valued at $87,561,884.52. The trade was a 17.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jillian Forusz sold 755 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.25, for a total value of $185,918.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,521 shares in the company, valued at $867,046.25. This represents a 17.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 77,091 shares of company stock worth $18,782,773 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

More Adobe News

Here are the key news stories impacting Adobe this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Adobe’s upcoming earnings could provide a catalyst if management shows Firefly and GenStudio are driving meaningful AI-related demand and improved guidance. Adobe Faces Make-or-Break Earnings Test as Traders Brace for Big Stock Swing
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and market watchers still see upside if Adobe can prove AI is becoming a real tailwind, rather than just a narrative, which could help restore investor confidence. Adobe Q2 Preview: Stock Near 7-Year Low, Market Expert Says Investors Want Proof 'AI Is A Tailwind'
• Positive Sentiment: Options traders are pricing in a large post-earnings move, suggesting the stock could rebound sharply if results beat expectations and the outlook improves. Adobe Will Report Q2 Earnings Tomorrow. Options Traders Expect a 9.45% Move in ADBE Stock

About Adobe

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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