Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Buys New Stake in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 343 shares of the software maker's stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Copia Wealth Management purchased a new position in Intuit during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Intuit in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Intuit during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Intuit in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. 83.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Intuit Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ INTU traded up $10.06 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $783.76. The stock had a trading volume of 309,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,614,847. Intuit Inc. has a 52 week low of $532.65 and a 52 week high of $790.60. The company has a market cap of $218.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.66, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.27. The business's 50 day moving average is $712.39 and its 200-day moving average is $640.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The software maker reported $11.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.89 by $0.76. The company had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.56 billion. Intuit had a net margin of 19.07% and a return on equity of 21.46%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.88 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Intuit Inc. will post 14.09 EPS for the current year.

Intuit Announces Dividend

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 paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Intuit's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.77%.

Insider Activity at Intuit

In other news, CFO Sandeep Aujla sold 16,061 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $726.13, for a total value of $11,662,373.93. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 197 shares in the company, valued at $143,047.61. The trade was a 98.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Laura A. Fennell sold 25,648 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $752.25, for a total value of $19,293,708.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,148,291. This represents a 52.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 272,896 shares of company stock worth $204,351,942 in the last quarter. 2.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on INTU. Jefferies Financial Group set a $850.00 target price on Intuit and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Intuit from $660.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Intuit from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $789.00 price target (up previously from $726.00) on shares of Intuit in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Intuit in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $793.05.

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.