Vest Financial LLC Grows Stake in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)

Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) by 65.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,008 shares of the software maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,975 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Intuit were worth $3,075,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of INTU. Copia Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Intuit during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Intuit by 72.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 43 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Intuit during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Intuit during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Intuit during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 83.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intuit Stock Performance

INTU opened at $771.58 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $646.24 and its 200 day moving average is $626.38. The company has a market cap of $215.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.91, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.28. Intuit Inc. has a 12-month low of $532.65 and a 12-month high of $773.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The software maker reported $11.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.89 by $0.76. The business had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.56 billion. Intuit had a net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The company’s revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.88 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Intuit Inc. will post 14.09 EPS for the current year.

Intuit Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Intuit’s payout ratio is currently 33.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Scott D. Cook sold 72,442 shares of Intuit stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $741.29, for a total transaction of $53,700,530.18. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,063,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,494,808,208.55. The trade was a 1.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Marianna Tessel sold 34,329 shares of Intuit stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $760.84, for a total transaction of $26,118,876.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,017,164.28. This trade represents a 45.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 225,592 shares of company stock valued at $165,325,437 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on INTU. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Intuit from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $820.00 price objective (up from $714.00) on shares of Intuit in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Hsbc Global Res raised Intuit from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $789.00 price objective (up from $726.00) on shares of Intuit in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Intuit from $685.00 to $785.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $785.33.

Intuit 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.