Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) Shares Sold by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council decreased its stake in shares of Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) by 63.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,795 shares of the software company’s stock after selling 15,072 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Adobe were worth $5,247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Adobe during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. HBC Financial Services PLLC purchased a new stake in Adobe in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in Adobe by 57.6% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 52 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Adobe in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Adobe in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.79% of the company’s stock.

Adobe Stock Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ ADBE traded up $4.10 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $477.00. 1,416,513 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,514,152. The stock has a market cap of $213.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $521.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $565.95. Adobe Inc. has a 1 year low of $331.89 and a 1 year high of $638.25.

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The software company reported $4.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.38 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $5.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.14 billion. Adobe had a return on equity of 39.12% and a net margin of 24.08%. Adobe’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.97 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Adobe Inc. will post 14.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Adobe declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 14th that allows the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the software company to reacquire up to 10.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Anil Chakravarthy sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.00, for a total value of $47,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,829,839. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Adobe news, CAO Mark S. Garfield sold 96 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $470.00, for a total transaction of $45,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,940,160. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anil Chakravarthy sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.00, for a total value of $47,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,829,839. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 984 shares of company stock valued at $577,171. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ADBE shares. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Adobe in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. KeyCorp started coverage on Adobe in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $445.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of Adobe in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Adobe from $600.00 to $570.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Adobe from $690.00 to $675.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $620.72.

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.