Cetera Investment Advisers Trims Stake in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers sold 6,551 shares of Intuit Inc., reducing its stake by 13.7% and leaving it with a total of 41,289 shares valued at approximately $25.35 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have recently increased their positions in Intuit, with 83.66% of the company's stock now owned by institutional investors.
• Intuit reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) in its latest earnings results, exceeding expectations and achieving a 15.1% year-over-year revenue growth of $7.75 billion.

Cetera Investment Advisers lessened its holdings in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU - Free Report) by 13.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,289 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 6,551 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Intuit were worth $25,352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Copia Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Intuit during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Intuit in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Intuit in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Intuit during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Intuit by 523.1% in the 1st quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 81 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Intuit from $742.00 to $868.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. CLSA started coverage on Intuit in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $900.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $850.00 target price on Intuit and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Intuit from $730.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $880.00 price objective on Intuit and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $806.27.

Intuit Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of INTU traded down $9.65 on Thursday, reaching $797.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 454,880 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,767,155. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $222.53 billion, a PE ratio of 64.75, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.27. Intuit Inc. has a twelve month low of $532.65 and a twelve month high of $813.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $763.60 and a 200-day moving average of $659.50.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. Intuit had a net margin of 19.07% and a return on equity of 21.46%. The firm had revenue of $7.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.88 EPS. The company's revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Intuit Inc. will post 14.09 EPS for the current year.

Intuit Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Intuit's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Sandeep Aujla sold 2,591 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $782.22, for a total transaction of $2,026,732.02. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 768 shares of the company's stock, valued at $600,744.96. The trade was a 77.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Alex G. Balazs sold 882 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $781.63, for a total transaction of $689,397.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 279,800 shares of company stock worth $209,725,054. 2.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.