Bailard Inc. Raises Stake in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)

Bailard Inc. raised its stake in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU - Free Report) by 71.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,525 shares of the software maker's stock after acquiring an additional 13,537 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.'s holdings in Intuit were worth $19,970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its stake in shares of Intuit by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 17,789 shares of the software maker's stock worth $10,922,000 after buying an additional 623 shares during the period. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Intuit during the 4th quarter worth approximately $109,988,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Intuit during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,285,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Intuit during the fourth quarter worth approximately $237,244,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Intuit by 16.2% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,905 shares of the software maker's stock worth $4,240,000 after purchasing an additional 962 shares in the last quarter. 83.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

INTU has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group set a $750.00 target price on Intuit and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Scotiabank upgraded Intuit from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $600.00 to $700.00 in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated 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. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $789.00 price target (up previously from $726.00) on shares of Intuit in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Intuit from $660.00 to $770.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $800.55.

Intuit Stock Performance

Intuit stock traded down $2.74 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $752.63. The company had a trading volume of 1,504,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,623,500. The firm has a market cap of $209.95 billion, a PE ratio of 61.09, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.27. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $532.65 and a one year high of $790.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $742.02 and a 200 day moving average of $649.76.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.56 billion. Intuit had a net margin of 19.07% and a return on equity of 21.46%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.88 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Intuit Inc. will post 14.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Intuit Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Intuit's payout ratio is presently 33.77%.

Insider Transactions at Intuit

In other news, CFO Sandeep Aujla sold 16,061 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $726.13, for a total value of $11,662,373.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 197 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $143,047.61. This represents a 98.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Marianna Tessel sold 34,329 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,017,164.28. The trade was a 45.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 279,800 shares of company stock valued at $209,725,054. Corporate insiders own 2.68% 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.