Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,160,000 shares, a drop of 8.4% from the August 15th total of 3,450,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,370,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.
Insider Buying and Selling at Intuit
In other Intuit news, EVP Alex G. Balazs sold 2,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $628.76, for a total value of $1,849,183.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,575.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Intuit news, EVP Alex G. Balazs sold 2,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $628.76, for a total transaction of $1,849,183.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20 shares in the company, valued at $12,575.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sandeep Aujla sold 862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $621.03, for a total value of $535,327.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 3,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,384,755.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,940 shares of company stock worth $10,721,252 over the last ninety days. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intuit
Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Intuit by 134.7% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 4,601 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,991,000 after purchasing an additional 2,641 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its position in Intuit by 119.0% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 1,338,139 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $836,377,000 after purchasing an additional 727,185 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in Intuit by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 179,801 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $112,381,000 after buying an additional 1,990 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Intuit by 173.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,687,583 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $2,304,850,000 after buying an additional 2,336,654 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Intuit by 33.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 10,607 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $6,895,000 after buying an additional 2,655 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.66% of the company’s stock.
Intuit Stock Performance
Shares of INTU traded down $11.75 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $633.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 995,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,319,312. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $176.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.93, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.24. Intuit has a 1-year low of $473.56 and a 1-year high of $676.62. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $636.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $631.29.
Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The software maker reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.14. Intuit had a net margin of 18.19% and a return on equity of 18.64%. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Intuit will post 14.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Intuit Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Intuit’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Intuit’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.38%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several analysts have recently weighed in on INTU shares. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Intuit in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $760.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Intuit from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $750.00 to $685.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Intuit from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Intuit from $730.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Intuit from $770.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Intuit presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $720.37.
Intuit Company Profile
Intuit Inc provides financial management and compliance products and services for consumers, small businesses, self-employed, and accounting professionals in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company operates in four segments: Small Business & Self-Employed, Consumer, Credit Karma, and ProTax.