Baillie Gifford & Co. Increases Holdings in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its stake in Intuit Inc. by 32.0%, now owning 129,759 shares valued at approximately $79.67 million.
• Intuit's latest earnings report showed earnings per share of $11.65, surpassing estimates, with a revenue of $7.75 billion, reflecting a 15.1% year-over-year increase.
• Insiders sold a total of 279,800 shares of Intuit stock in the last three months, which totaled approximately $209.73 million in sales.

Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its stake in shares of Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU - Free Report) by 32.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 129,759 shares of the software maker's stock after buying an additional 31,476 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co.'s holdings in Intuit were worth $79,671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Copia Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Intuit during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Intuit during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Intuit during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Intuit during the first quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Intuit by 523.1% during the first quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 81 shares of the software maker's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.66% of the company's stock.

Intuit Stock Performance

INTU stock traded up $1.29 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $807.63. The company had a trading volume of 481,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,768,628. The firm has a market cap of $225.28 billion, a PE ratio of 65.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.27. Intuit Inc. has a 1-year low of $532.65 and a 1-year high of $807.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $760.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $658.48. 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 results on Thursday, May 22nd. The software maker reported $11.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.89 by $0.76. The firm had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.56 billion. Intuit had a return on equity of 21.46% and a net margin of 19.07%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.88 EPS. On average, 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 was paid on Friday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Intuit's payout ratio is 33.77%.

Insider Activity at Intuit

In other Intuit news, EVP Laura A. Fennell sold 25,648 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $752.25, for a total transaction of $19,293,708.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,148,291. The trade was a 52.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marianna Tessel sold 34,329 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $760.84, for a total value of $26,118,876.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 40,767 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 279,800 shares of company stock worth $209,725,054 in the last three months. 2.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Intuit from $660.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. 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. CLSA assumed coverage on Intuit in a report on Thursday, June 26th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $900.00 target price for the company. Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Intuit in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Intuit from $742.00 to $868.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. One investment 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $806.27.

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.