Strs Ohio Reduces Holdings in Adobe Inc. $ADBE

Key Points

• Strs Ohio cut its Adobe stake by 7.7% in the first quarter, selling 7,248 shares and ending with 87,477 shares valued at about $21.3 million.
• Adobe reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $5.96 versus the $5.82 consensus and revenue of $6.62 billion, up 12.7% year over year.
• The company authorized a $25 billion share buyback, while analysts remain mixed overall: the consensus rating is Hold, even as HSBC recently upgraded the stock to Buy.

Strs Ohio decreased its stake in shares of Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE - Free Report) by 7.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,477 shares of the software company's stock after selling 7,248 shares during the period. Strs Ohio's holdings in Adobe were worth $21,264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Willis Investment Counsel boosted its stake in Adobe by 138.9% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of Adobe by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 174,626 shares of the software company's stock worth $61,117,000 after purchasing an additional 12,400 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Adobe by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 215,611 shares of the software company's stock worth $75,462,000 after buying an additional 25,435 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Adobe by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 55,179 shares of the software company's stock worth $19,312,000 after buying an additional 6,426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True North Advisors LLC increased its position in Adobe by 301.1% during the 4th quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 6,493 shares of the software company's stock valued at $2,273,000 after buying an additional 4,874 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.79% of the company's stock.

Adobe Price Performance

Adobe stock opened at $219.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $87.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $265.14. Adobe Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.12 and a 12 month high of $386.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 11th. The software company reported $5.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.82 by $0.14. Adobe had a return on equity of 65.11% and a net margin of 28.69%.The firm had revenue of $6.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.06 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. 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 analysts predict that Adobe Inc. will post 19.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Adobe declared that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 purchase up to 24.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Shantanu Narayen sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.54, for a total transaction of $18,265,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 359,538 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,561,884.52. The trade was a 17.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Jillian Forusz sold 755 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 17.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 77,091 shares of company stock worth $18,782,773 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ADBE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Adobe from $425.00 to $365.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Barclays reduced their price target on Adobe from $275.00 to $250.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 12th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Adobe in a research report on Friday, June 12th. HSBC upgraded shares of Adobe from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $308.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Adobe from $290.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $278.40.

Key Stories Impacting Adobe

Here are the key news stories impacting Adobe this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HSBC upgraded Adobe to Buy and said AI concerns have created an overly pessimistic valuation, helping fuel a rally in the stock. This Adobe analyst is going against the grain by telling investors to buy the stock
• Positive Sentiment: Adobe is expanding its AI push with Firefly Foundry and a broader freemium funnel, which could increase adoption of its creative tools and support longer-term growth. Adobe (ADBE) Launches Firefly Foundry As It Pushes AI Tools To More Users
• Positive Sentiment: An insider reportedly increased his Adobe stake by 130%, signaling internal confidence in the company’s turnaround and AI strategy. 1 Adobe Insider Just Boosted His Stake by 130%. Why He Is Betting Big on ADBE Right Now.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Adobe as a long-term value or “best SaaS stock” idea, but these were largely opinion pieces rather than new fundamental updates. Why Adobe Systems (ADBE) is a Top Value Stock for the Long-Term
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary from analysts and investors continued to debate whether Adobe’s growth is slowing or whether the market is underestimating its resilience against AI disruption. Analyst Sees Slower Growth Tempering Outlook for Adobe (ADBE)
• Negative Sentiment: Phillip Securities downgraded Adobe to Neutral from Buy and cut its price target sharply, reflecting concern that growth may slow even as legacy software remains durable. Analyst Sees Slower Growth Tempering Outlook for Adobe (ADBE)

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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