Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) Reaches New 12-Month High at $563.62

Shares of Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $563.62 and last traded at $562.00, with a volume of 108666 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $555.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Intuit from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Intuit from $495.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Intuit from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 25th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Intuit from $530.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Intuit from $525.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $567.41.

Intuit Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $157.92 billion, a PE ratio of 65.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $520.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $486.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 24th. The software maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $2.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.64 billion. Intuit had a net margin of 16.59% and a return on equity of 16.61%. Intuit’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.22 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Intuit Inc. will post 11.25 EPS for the current year.

Intuit Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 9th were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 5th. This is an increase from Intuit’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Intuit’s payout ratio is 42.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Alex G. Balazs sold 2,307 shares of Intuit stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $523.58, for a total value of $1,207,899.06. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,975,990.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Alex G. Balazs sold 2,307 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $523.58, for a total value of $1,207,899.06. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at $1,975,990.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark P. Notarainni sold 358 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.29, for a total transaction of $183,041.82. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $444,311.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,073 shares of company stock worth $22,091,651 in the last 90 days. 3.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intuit

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aspire Private Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Intuit in the 1st quarter worth about $12,037,410,000. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in Intuit in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Intuit during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Intuit during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Intuit by 100.0% in the first quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 58 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.63% of the company’s stock.

About Intuit

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.