Ethic Inc. Increases Position in Intuit Inc. $INTU

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. has increased its stake in Intuit Inc. by 8.2%, now owning 29,227 shares valued at approximately $17.94 million.
• Intuit's recent quarterly earnings report showed $11.65 EPS, exceeding the consensus estimate of $10.89, with a 15.1% revenue growth year-over-year.
• The company announced a $1.04 quarterly dividend, reflecting a 0.6% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 33.77%.

Ethic Inc. increased its stake in shares of Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU - Free Report) by 8.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,227 shares of the software maker's stock after buying an additional 2,223 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Intuit were worth $17,939,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Intuit by 1.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,078,686 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $1,890,282,000 after purchasing an additional 36,513 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Intuit by 4.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,841,590 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,130,718,000 after purchasing an additional 82,419 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its position in shares of Intuit by 3.6% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 17,789 shares of the software maker's stock worth $10,922,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC bought a new position in Intuit in the 4th quarter valued at about $109,988,000. Finally, Malaga Cove Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Intuit by 110.6% in the 1st quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC now owns 874 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $537,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.66% of the company's stock.

Intuit Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ INTU traded up $6.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $716.74. 1,751,380 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,630,457. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $763.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $672.00. Intuit Inc. has a one year low of $532.65 and a one year high of $813.70. The company has a market cap of $199.93 billion, a PE ratio of 58.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 1.45.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The software maker reported $11.65 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 analysts' expectations of $7.56 billion. Intuit had a return on equity of 21.46% and a net margin of 19.07%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.88 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Intuit Inc. will post 14.09 EPS for the current year.

Intuit Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Intuit news, Director Richard L. Dalzell sold 333 shares of Intuit stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $768.43, for a total transaction of $255,887.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,890,685.82. The trade was a 2.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alex G. Balazs sold 882 shares of Intuit stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $781.63, for a total value of $689,397.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 279,800 shares of company stock worth $209,725,054. Insiders own 2.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on INTU. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $815.00 target price (up from $775.00) on shares of Intuit in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Intuit from $742.00 to $868.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $825.00 price target (up from $785.00) on shares of Intuit in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Intuit from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Intuit from $660.00 to $770.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $809.86.

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.