Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 11,336 Shares of Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Intuit Inc. by 76%, now holding 3,577 shares worth approximately $2.2 million.
• Intuit's stock is receiving favorable analyst ratings, with a consensus target price of $806.27 and an average rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Recent insider sales included EVP Laura A. Fennell selling 25,648 shares and Scott D. Cook selling 72,442 shares, totaling over $73 million in stock value.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU - Free Report) by 76.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,577 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 11,336 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Intuit were worth $2,196,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Intuit by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,444,600 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $2,114,950,000 after acquiring an additional 252,265 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Intuit by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,371,013 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $2,118,682,000 after acquiring an additional 498,030 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Intuit by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,072,021 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $1,930,765,000 after acquiring an additional 771,232 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Intuit by 69,701.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,825,582 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $17,348,790,000 after acquiring an additional 2,821,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Intuit by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,804,476 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $1,134,114,000 after acquiring an additional 33,265 shares during the last quarter. 83.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Marianna Tessel sold 34,329 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 40,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,017,164.28. This trade represents a 45.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Laura A. Fennell sold 25,648 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $752.25, for a total transaction of $19,293,708.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,148,291. The trade was a 52.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 279,800 shares of company stock valued at $209,725,054. 2.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $880.00 target price on Intuit and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Bank of America upped their target price on Intuit from $730.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Scotiabank upgraded Intuit from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $600.00 to $700.00 in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $789.00 target price (up previously from $726.00) on shares of Intuit in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating on shares of Intuit in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $806.27.

Intuit Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of INTU traded down $15.60 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $769.27. The stock had a trading volume of 1,257,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,466,042. 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 firm has a market cap of $214.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $768.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $663.67. Intuit Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $532.65 and a fifty-two week high of $813.70.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The software maker reported $11.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.89 by $0.76. The business had revenue of $7.75 billion during 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 company posted $9.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Intuit Inc. will post 14.09 EPS for the current year.

Intuit Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors 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 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Intuit's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.77%.

Intuit Company Profile

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.