Johnson Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE)

Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,237 shares of the software company’s stock after buying an additional 562 shares during the quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Adobe were worth $4,041,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Adobe by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,712,616 shares of the software company’s stock worth $765,094,000 after purchasing an additional 33,414 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Adobe by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 127,696 shares of the software company’s stock worth $56,784,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the period. Burling Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Adobe during the 4th quarter valued at $1,173,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Adobe by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 99,150 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $44,090,000 after acquiring an additional 1,326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M. Kraus & Co purchased a new stake in Adobe in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,285,000. Institutional investors own 81.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Adobe

In related news, CAO Jillian Forusz sold 334 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $435.83, for a total value of $145,567.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,170,203.55. This trade represents a 11.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David A. Ricks acquired 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $443.98 per share, with a total value of $998,955.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,212,796.32. The trade was a 82.30 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Adobe Price Performance

NASDAQ ADBE opened at $367.72 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $392.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $445.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $156.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.65, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.49. Adobe Inc. has a 12 month low of $332.01 and a 12 month high of $587.75.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Adobe from $600.00 to $430.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Adobe from $560.00 to $530.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Adobe from $650.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Summit Redstone set a $410.00 target price on Adobe in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Adobe from $495.00 to $450.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $502.88.

About Adobe

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.