Adobe Inc. $ADBE Stock Bought by Willis Investment Counsel

Willis Investment Counsel raised its stake in Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 114,918 shares of the software company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,116 shares during the quarter. Adobe accounts for 1.2% of Willis Investment Counsel’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Adobe were worth $27,573,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. grew its position in Adobe by 185.7% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 100 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA acquired a new position in Adobe in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Adobe during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH purchased a new position in Adobe during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Bullock Wealth Management Group lifted its stake in shares of Adobe by 468.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bullock Wealth Management Group now owns 125 shares of the software company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.79% of the company’s stock.

Adobe Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADBE traded up $7.87 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $254.96. 2,272,637 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,679,811. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Adobe Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.12 and a 1 year high of $363.70. The company has a market cap of $99.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.24, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $256.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $243.01.

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 10th. The software company reported $6.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.08 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.69 billion. Adobe had a net margin of 28.05% and a return on equity of 65.65%. The business’s revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.31 EPS. Adobe has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 6.300-6.350 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 24.450-24.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Adobe Inc. will post 20.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

More Adobe News

Here are the key news stories impacting Adobe this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Adobe gained alongside ServiceNow after Salesforce announced its $5.66 billion acquisition of Braze. The deal highlighted the strategic importance of customer-engagement and marketing software, while also raising concerns about Salesforce’s spending, making Adobe and other established software companies appear relatively attractive. Salesforce Retreats on Braze Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts argue Adobe has been oversold on AI fears. The company continues to beat earnings estimates and raise guidance, while its deeply embedded creative and marketing tools may be difficult for customers to replace with newer AI products. Has Adobe Stock Fallen Too Far on AI Fears?
• Positive Sentiment: Adobe was included among software companies viewed as resilient during the recent AI-related sell-off. The thesis is that sticky enterprise workflows and Adobe’s ability to incorporate AI into its products could support a recovery if software spending improves after the midterm elections. Stocks With Sticky Demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Adobe is attracting unusually high investor attention, putting its earnings performance, valuation, AI strategy and depressed share price under increased scrutiny. Adobe Attracting Investor Attention
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo downgraded Adobe to Underweight from Overweight, signaling that the firm sees greater downside or weaker near-term upside potential. Wells Fargo Downgrades Adobe
• Negative Sentiment: Broader AI commentary continues to identify Adobe as one of the enterprise-software companies facing structural questions, including whether generative AI could reduce demand for traditional creative tools or increase competitive pressure. An open-source, AI-focused Adobe alternative also reinforces that concern. Open-Source AI Adobe Alternative

Insider Activity at Adobe

In other Adobe news, CAO Jillian Forusz sold 416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.33, for a total transaction of $109,961.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,010,797.92. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Shantanu Narayen sold 74,500 shares of Adobe stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.56, for a total transaction of $18,741,220.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 289,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,757,189.44. The trade was a 20.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 125,416 shares of company stock valued at $31,454,466 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Adobe from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Adobe from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Adobe in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Adobe in a report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut Adobe from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have issued a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Adobe presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $283.90.

About Adobe

Adobe Inc is a global software company that develops digital tools for creative professionals, businesses, marketers, and individual users. Its products help customers create, edit, publish, manage, and measure digital content across websites, mobile applications, documents, and other media.

The company’s Creative Cloud portfolio includes applications such as Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, and Acrobat. Adobe also offers Document Cloud, which provides tools for creating, editing, sharing, signing, and managing digital documents, and Experience Cloud, a suite of solutions for digital marketing, analytics, commerce, customer journeys, and content management.