Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 3,389 Shares of Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE)

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) by 53.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,763 shares of the software company’s stock after buying an additional 3,389 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Adobe were worth $4,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ADBE. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Adobe during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Adobe by 226.7% during the 3rd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 49 shares of the software company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Adobe during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of Adobe by 141.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 58 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Adobe during the third quarter worth about $36,000. 81.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Adobe Price Performance

Shares of ADBE stock opened at $429.99 on Friday. Adobe Inc. has a 1 year low of $403.75 and a 1 year high of $638.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $476.55 and its 200-day moving average is $512.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $189.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.68, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.31.

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 11th. The software company reported $4.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. Adobe had a return on equity of 45.87% and a net margin of 25.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Adobe Inc. will post 16.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Adobe

In other Adobe news, Director Amy Banse sold 606 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total value of $333,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,110,950. This trade represents a 1.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott Belsky sold 481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.42, for a total transaction of $232,525.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 18,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,763,437.76. The trade was a 2.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,763 shares of company stock worth $893,665 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Adobe from $625.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup cut their target price on Adobe from $616.00 to $590.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Adobe from $685.00 to $625.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Adobe from $700.00 to $640.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Adobe from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $625.00 to $550.00 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $573.00.

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.