Russell Investments Group Ltd. Raises Stake in Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 525,878 shares of the software company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,612 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Adobe were worth $233,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Adobe by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,712,616 shares of the software company’s stock worth $765,094,000 after acquiring an additional 33,414 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Adobe by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 127,696 shares of the software company’s stock worth $56,784,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Adobe by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 99,150 shares of the software company’s stock worth $44,090,000 after buying an additional 1,326 shares during the period. M. Kraus & Co acquired a new stake in shares of Adobe in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,285,000. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its stake in shares of Adobe by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 5,972 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $2,656,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.79% of the company’s stock.

Adobe Stock Down 5.0 %

ADBE stock opened at $349.07 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $425.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $463.96. The company has a market capitalization of $148.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.49. Adobe Inc. has a 52 week low of $348.80 and a 52 week high of $587.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 12th. The software company reported $5.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $5.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.66 billion. Adobe had a return on equity of 45.87% and a net margin of 25.85%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.48 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Adobe Inc. will post 16.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jillian Forusz sold 334 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $435.83, for a total transaction of $145,567.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,170,203.55. This represents a 11.06 % 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, EVP Scott Belsky sold 922 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.28, for a total value of $403,172.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,153 shares in the company, valued at $9,687,063.84. This represents a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,075 shares of company stock worth $2,191,826 over the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADBE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Adobe in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price target on Adobe from $605.00 to $528.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Adobe from $635.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen cut Adobe from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $625.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Adobe from $515.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $531.54.

Adobe 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.