Benjamin Edwards Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Intuit Inc. by 16.2%, acquiring an additional 8,995 shares, bringing its total to 64,541 shares valued at approximately $39.6 million.
• Insider transactions showed significant selling, with Scott D. Cook selling 72,442 shares for over $53.7 million, reducing his ownership by 1.18%.
• Intuit reported earnings of $11.65 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, and revenue growth of 15.1% year-over-year, amounting to $7.75 billion for the quarter.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU - Free Report) by 16.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,541 shares of the software maker's stock after purchasing an additional 8,995 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Intuit were worth $39,629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in INTU. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Intuit by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,330,309 shares of the software maker's stock worth $16,780,536,000 after buying an additional 294,993 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Intuit by 7.9% in the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,444,600 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $2,114,950,000 after acquiring an additional 252,265 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Intuit by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,371,013 shares of the software maker's stock worth $2,118,682,000 after acquiring an additional 498,030 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Intuit by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,072,021 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $1,930,765,000 after acquiring an additional 771,232 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Intuit by 69,701.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,825,582 shares of the software maker's stock worth $17,348,790,000 after purchasing an additional 2,821,534 shares during the period. 83.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intuit Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ INTU traded up $7.39 on Tuesday, hitting $713.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,145,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,774,260. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $768.10 and a 200-day moving average of $668.87. The company has a market capitalization of $199.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.28. Intuit Inc. has a 12-month low of $532.65 and a 12-month high of $813.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.45.

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

Intuit Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Intuit's dividend payout ratio is 33.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

INTU has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Intuit from $820.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Intuit from $660.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $850.00 price target (up from $760.00) on shares of Intuit in a report on Friday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Intuit from $750.00 to $860.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $789.00 target price (up previously from $726.00) on shares of Intuit in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Intuit presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $806.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kerry J. Mclean sold 16,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $729.16, for a total transaction of $12,176,972.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 23,101 shares in the company, valued at $16,844,325.16. This trade represents a 41.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Marianna Tessel sold 34,329 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $760.84, for a total value of $26,118,876.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 40,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,017,164.28. The trade was a 45.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 279,800 shares of company stock worth $209,725,054 in the last 90 days. 2.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.