Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) Receives Outperform Rating from BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a $610.00 price target on the software company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on ADBE. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Adobe from $690.00 to $675.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer reissued an outperform rating and set a $660.00 price objective on shares of Adobe in a report on Friday, March 15th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Adobe from $700.00 to $630.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Adobe from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Adobe from $590.00 to $525.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $620.72.

Adobe Stock Performance

Shares of ADBE opened at $504.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $228.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $573.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $571.57. Adobe has a 52 week low of $331.89 and a 52 week high of $638.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The software company reported $4.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.38 by $0.10. Adobe had a net margin of 24.08% and a return on equity of 39.12%. The business had revenue of $5.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.97 EPS. Adobe’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Adobe will post 14.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Adobe announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software company to purchase up to 10.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Adobe

In other news, CAO Mark S. Garfield sold 84 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.99, for a total transaction of $49,727.16. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,400,519.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Adobe news, CAO Mark S. Garfield sold 84 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.99, for a total transaction of $49,727.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,055 shares in the company, valued at $2,400,519.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Mark S. Garfield sold 788 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $615.42, for a total value of $484,950.96. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,495,528.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,162 shares of company stock worth $5,340,250 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Adobe

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADBE. Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Adobe by 222.4% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 13,328 shares of the software company’s stock worth $7,951,000 after purchasing an additional 9,194 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Adobe in the 4th quarter worth $5,569,000. Napatree Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Adobe during the 4th quarter worth $399,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Adobe by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 131,563 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $78,491,000 after buying an additional 8,813 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of Adobe by 5,381.5% in the fourth quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 296,000 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $176,594,000 after acquiring an additional 290,600 shares in the last quarter. 81.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.