Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) is Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s 4th Largest Position

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its stake in Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,912 shares of the software company’s stock after selling 257 shares during the period. Adobe accounts for approximately 2.9% of Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Adobe were worth $9,744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. United Bank grew its position in Adobe by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 2,596 shares of the software company’s stock worth $1,344,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Adobe during the third quarter worth about $719,000. Tradition Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Adobe by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,646 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $1,370,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Adobe by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 5,094 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $2,681,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plotkin Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Adobe during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $316,000. 81.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Adobe

In related news, CFO Daniel Durn purchased 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $390.58 per share, with a total value of $507,754.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 29,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,668,968.08. This trade represents a 4.55 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David A. Ricks purchased 2,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $443.98 per share, for a total transaction of $998,955.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 4,984 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,075 shares of company stock worth $2,191,826. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Adobe from $580.00 to $540.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $475.00 price objective (down from $600.00) on shares of Adobe in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Adobe from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $425.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of Adobe from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Adobe from $490.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Adobe currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $533.85.

Adobe Price Performance

NASDAQ:ADBE opened at $385.71 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $164.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.37. Adobe Inc. has a 12-month low of $374.50 and a 12-month high of $587.75. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $431.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $468.92.

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

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.