Welch & Forbes LLC Has $26.27 Million Stake in Adobe Inc. $ADBE

Key Points

• Welch & Forbes LLC cut its Adobe stake by 21% in the fourth quarter, selling 19,923 shares and leaving it with 75,055 shares worth about $26.27 million.
• Adobe continues to attract mixed Wall Street views: analysts’ consensus remains “Hold” with a $338.15 price target, though recent targets were lowered by several firms and ratings range from Strong Buy to Sell.
• Insiders have also been selling shares, including CEO Shantanu Narayen, who sold 75,000 shares in late April; meanwhile, Adobe recently authorized a $25 billion share buyback and reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue.

Welch & Forbes LLC reduced its stake in Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE - Free Report) by 21.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,055 shares of the software company's stock after selling 19,923 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC's holdings in Adobe were worth $26,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in Adobe in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new stake in Adobe in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in Adobe in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP bought a new stake in Adobe in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, TrustBank bought a new stake in Adobe in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 81.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADBE has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Adobe from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Adobe from $290.00 to $220.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Adobe from $330.00 to $280.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Adobe from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Adobe in a report on Friday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $338.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Shantanu Narayen sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 359,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,561,884.52. The trade was a 17.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jillian Forusz sold 755 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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. The trade was a 17.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 77,091 shares of company stock worth $18,782,773. 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 is seeing renewed buying ahead of its expected June 11 earnings release, with investors likely adjusting positions and leaning into a valuation rebound after a prolonged reset in software stocks. Adobe shares rise as investors position ahead of next earnings and lean into a valuation rebound
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted Adobe’s AI strategy, including AI agents and Acrobat becoming more of an AI workspace, which supports the view that Adobe can adapt its products to new workflows and defend its enterprise software franchise. Adobe Acrobat Studio review: Acrobat becomes an AI workspace
• Positive Sentiment: Adobe Analytics was named a “Champion” in Info-Tech Research Group’s 2026 Digital Analytics Data Quadrant, reinforcing the strength of Adobe’s analytics and customer-experience products. Top Digital Analytics Platforms Named 2026 Champions in Info-Tech Research Group's Data Quadrant Report

Adobe Price Performance

NASDAQ ADBE opened at $259.21 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $224.13 and a 12-month high of $421.48. The company has a market capitalization of $104.77 billion, a PE ratio of 15.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.42. The firm's 50 day moving average is $244.11 and its 200-day moving average is $284.39.

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The software company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.87 by $0.19. Adobe had a net margin of 29.48% and a return on equity of 64.48%. The company had revenue of $6.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.08 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Adobe has set its FY 2026 guidance at 23.300-23.500 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 5.800-5.850 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Adobe Inc. will post 19.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Adobe declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 21st that permits the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the software company to repurchase up to 24.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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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