Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. Lowers Stock Holdings in Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE)

Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. cut its holdings in Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) by 87.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 110 shares of the software company’s stock after selling 770 shares during the quarter. Adobe accounts for 0.7% of Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Adobe were worth $49,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in Adobe by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,270,287 shares of the software company’s stock worth $10,495,544,000 after acquiring an additional 234,909 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Adobe by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,529,089 shares of the software company’s stock worth $5,435,377,000 after purchasing an additional 147,981 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Adobe by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,690,163 shares of the software company’s stock worth $5,017,373,000 after purchasing an additional 787,356 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Adobe by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,741,549 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $2,455,079,000 after buying an additional 140,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Adobe by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,909 shares of the software company’s stock worth $1,249,066,000 after buying an additional 92,458 shares during the last quarter. 81.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ADBE shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $530.00 target price on shares of Adobe in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Adobe from $605.00 to $528.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Adobe from $675.00 to $645.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Adobe from $551.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Adobe in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $538.80.

Insider Activity at Adobe

In other news, Director David A. Ricks purchased 2,250 shares of the 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 directly owns 4,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,212,796.32. The trade was a 82.30 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel Durn acquired 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,668,968.08. The trade was a 4.55 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 5,075 shares of company stock worth $2,191,826. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Adobe Price Performance

ADBE opened at $403.64 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $433.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $472.75. Adobe Inc. has a 12-month low of $374.50 and a 12-month high of $587.75. The firm has a market cap of $175.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.55, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 12th. The software company reported $5.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $5.71 billion during 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 firm posted $4.48 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Adobe Inc. will post 16.65 earnings per share 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.