Howard Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)

Key Points

• Howard Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Intuit Inc. by 13.1%, owning 6,614 shares after selling 996 shares during the first quarter, valued at approximately $4.06 million.
• Several analysts have upgraded Intuit's stock outlook, with target prices ranging from $770 to $900, and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Intuit reported $11.65 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates, along with revenue growth of 15.1% year-over-year, totaling $7.75 billion.

Howard Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU - Free Report) by 13.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,614 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 996 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Intuit were worth $4,061,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Intuit by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 118 shares of the software maker's stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its position in shares of Intuit by 18.4% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 116 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Chris Bulman Inc increased its holdings in shares of Intuit by 1.2% in the first quarter. Chris Bulman Inc now owns 1,523 shares of the software maker's stock worth $935,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Intuit by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,192 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $749,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Norden Group LLC grew its position in Intuit by 1.2% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,021,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 83.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on INTU shares. Scotiabank raised Intuit from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $600.00 to $700.00 in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Intuit from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $850.00 price target (up previously from $770.00) on shares of Intuit in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Intuit from $750.00 to $860.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Intuit from $820.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $806.27.

Intuit Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of INTU stock traded down $8.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $776.15. 1,490,057 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,382,113. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company's 50-day moving average price is $767.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $661.74. The company has a market cap of $216.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.28. Intuit Inc. has a 12 month low of $532.65 and a 12 month high of $813.70.

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. Intuit had a return on equity of 21.46% and a net margin of 19.07%. The business had revenue of $7.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.88 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Intuit Inc. will post 14.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Intuit's payout ratio is 33.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Sandeep Aujla sold 16,061 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $726.13, for a total transaction of $11,662,373.93. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 197 shares in the company, valued at $143,047.61. This represents a 98.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kerry J. Mclean sold 16,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $729.16, for a total value of $12,176,972.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 23,101 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,844,325.16. This trade represents a 41.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 279,800 shares of company stock worth $209,725,054 in the last quarter. 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.