Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $726.53.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Intuit from $800.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Intuit in a report on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $700.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Intuit from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Intuit from $790.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Intuit from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Lauren D. Hotz sold 1,078 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $619.28, for a total value of $667,583.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,154,337.92. This trade represents a 36.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alex G. Balazs sold 23,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $665.98, for a total transaction of $15,856,983.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $325,664.22. The trade was a 97.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 293,014 shares of company stock worth $188,992,187 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Intuit

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Intuit by 83.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 590,085 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $371,984,000 after buying an additional 268,060 shares during the period. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Intuit in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $621,000. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. raised its holdings in Intuit by 5.4% in the third quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 35,902 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $22,295,000 after acquiring an additional 1,853 shares in the last quarter. Retireful LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Intuit in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $740,000. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Intuit in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $56,144,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.66% of the company’s stock.

Intuit Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of INTU stock opened at $587.38 on Friday. Intuit has a 1-year low of $557.29 and a 1-year high of $714.78. The company has a market cap of $164.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.03, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $621.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $630.35.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The software maker reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. Intuit had a net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The company’s revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Intuit will post 14.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intuit Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Intuit’s payout ratio is currently 40.39%.

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.