Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) Stock Price Down 0.4% Following Insider Selling

Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE - Get Free Report) dropped 0.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $438.83 and last traded at $441.10. Approximately 884,192 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 3,883,162 shares. The stock had previously closed at $442.84.

Specifically, CAO Jillian Forusz sold 334 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $435.83, for a total transaction of $145,567.22. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,170,203.55. This represents a 11.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott Belsky sold 3,819 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $430.24, for a total transaction of $1,643,086.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,334 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,888,020.16. This represents a 17.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In related news, EVP Scott Belsky sold 922 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.28, for a total value of $403,172.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,687,063.84. The trade was a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Adobe from $610.00 to $590.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Adobe from $525.00 to $475.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Adobe from $685.00 to $625.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Adobe from $640.00 to $620.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Adobe from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Adobe presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $573.00.

Adobe Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company's fifty day moving average price is $465.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $505.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.31.

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 11th. The software company reported $4.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.14. Adobe had a return on equity of 45.87% and a net margin of 25.85%. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.52 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Adobe Inc. will post 16.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Adobe

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Adobe by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,712,616 shares of the software company's stock valued at $765,094,000 after acquiring an additional 33,414 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Adobe by 12.2% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 19,322 shares of the software company's stock valued at $10,005,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Adobe by 28.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,458 shares of the software company's stock valued at $3,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Adobe by 201.0% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 117,383 shares of the software company's stock worth $60,779,000 after purchasing an additional 78,384 shares during the period. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc grew its position in Adobe by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 8,519 shares of the software company's stock valued at $4,411,000 after buying an additional 2,113 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.79% of the company's stock.

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.