Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $607.67.

A number of research analysts have commented on ADBE shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Adobe from $625.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 7th. HSBC lowered their price objective on shares of Adobe from $557.00 to $511.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Adobe from $700.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Adobe from $653.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of Adobe in a report on Friday, June 7th.

Adobe Price Performance

ADBE stock opened at $555.54 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $485.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $534.90. Adobe has a 52-week low of $433.97 and a 52-week high of $638.25. The company has a market capitalization of $246.33 billion, a PE ratio of 49.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 13th. The software company reported $4.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.39 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.29 billion. Adobe had a net margin of 24.86% and a return on equity of 40.67%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.04 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Adobe will post 14.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Adobe announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software company to repurchase up to 10.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Adobe

In other Adobe news, CEO Shantanu Narayen sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.11, for a total transaction of $13,602,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 379,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $206,576,802.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Adobe news, EVP Scott Belsky sold 2,713 shares of Adobe stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.30, for a total transaction of $1,286,775.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,014,370.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Shantanu Narayen sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.11, for a total transaction of $13,602,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 379,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $206,576,802.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,270 shares of company stock worth $15,165,916 in the last quarter. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Adobe

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADBE. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Adobe in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,753,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Adobe by 10.4% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,280 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $10,851,000 after acquiring an additional 2,003 shares during the last quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors grew its position in Adobe by 43.4% in the third quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 1,560 shares of the software company’s stock worth $795,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Cadence Bank increased its stake in shares of Adobe by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 4,983 shares of the software company’s stock worth $2,541,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peloton Wealth Strategists bought a new position in shares of Adobe during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,068,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.79% of the company’s stock.

Adobe Company Profile

Adobe Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified software company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Digital Media, Digital Experience, and Publishing and Advertising. The Digital Media segment offers products, services, and solutions that enable individuals, teams, and enterprises to create, publish, and promote content; and Document Cloud, a unified cloud-based document services platform.