Welch & Forbes LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Adobe Inc. $ADBE

Welch & Forbes LLC lowered its position in shares of Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) by 84.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,033 shares of the software company’s stock after selling 63,022 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Adobe were worth $2,925,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADBE. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in Adobe during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Adobe in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP bought a new position in shares of Adobe during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. TrustBank purchased a new stake in shares of Adobe during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new stake in Adobe in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. 81.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Adobe Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADBE opened at $223.64 on Monday. Adobe Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.12 and a 12-month high of $376.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $230.84 and a 200 day moving average of $259.85.

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 11th. The software company reported $5.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.82 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $6.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. Adobe had a net margin of 28.69% and a return on equity of 65.11%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.06 earnings per share. Adobe has set its FY 2026 guidance at 24.350-24.450 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 6.050-6.100 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Adobe Inc. will post 19.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Adobe announced that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 reacquire up to 24.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Adobe news, CEO Shantanu Narayen sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.54, for a total value of $18,265,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 359,538 shares in the company, valued at $87,561,884.52. This represents a 17.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jillian Forusz sold 755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.25, for a total value of $185,918.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,521 shares in the company, valued at $867,046.25. This trade represents a 17.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 77,091 shares of company stock valued at $18,782,773 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADBE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Adobe from $420.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Adobe from $270.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Adobe in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Summit Redstone set a $350.00 target price on shares of Adobe in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Adobe from $280.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $275.00.

Adobe News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Adobe this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Adobe’s planned acquisition of Topaz Labs could strengthen its generative AI and video/image editing tools, supporting long-term product differentiation and monetization. Adobe (ADBE) to Acquire Topaz Labs
• Positive Sentiment: Another recent analysis highlighted Adobe’s acquisition of Rephrase.AI as a way to bolster generative AI video capabilities for e-commerce, which could broaden Adobe’s addressable market and improve growth prospects. Adobe’s Strategic Acquisition of Rephrase.AI to Bolster Generative AI Video Capabilities for E-commerce
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary from Seeking Alpha and other outlets suggested the stock may be oversold or viewed as a comeback candidate, but these were opinion pieces rather than new fundamentals. Adobe: Market Overreaction Creates A Highly Asymmetric Risk-Reward Opportunity
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful shares outstanding to short, so it does not appear to be adding real trading pressure or changing the investment case.
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America reportedly downgraded Adobe to Underperform, arguing that AI tools could pressure Adobe’s growth rather than accelerate it, reinforcing investor concerns about competitive disruption. Bank of America Says AI Will Drag Down Adobe Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Additional headlines about users canceling Adobe Acrobat for cheaper alternatives may add to the narrative that pricing pressure and product substitution remain risks for the company.

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.