Middleton & Co. Inc. MA Lowers Position in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)

Key Points

• Middleton & Co. Inc. MA reduced its stake in Intuit Inc. by 3.0%, holding 24,239 shares valued at approximately $14.88 million, which accounts for about 1.7% of their total portfolio.
• Intuit's stock showed strong performance with a quarterly revenue of $7.75 billion, surpassing analysts' expectations, and reported an EPS of $11.65, exceeding estimates by $0.76.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.04 per share, yielding 0.5%, and has a dividend payout ratio of 33.77%.

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA trimmed its holdings in shares of Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU - Free Report) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,239 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 753 shares during the quarter. Intuit accounts for approximately 1.7% of Middleton & Co. Inc. MA's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA's holdings in Intuit were worth $14,883,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of INTU. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC acquired a new position in Intuit in the 4th quarter valued at about $109,988,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Intuit during the first quarter worth about $2,285,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Intuit during the fourth quarter worth about $237,244,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted 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 currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intuit Trading Up 1.1%

INTU opened at $784.87 on Tuesday. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $532.65 and a 52 week high of $813.70. The business's 50 day moving average is $768.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $663.67. The firm has a market cap of $218.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.28.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. Intuit had a net margin of 19.07% and a return on equity of 21.46%. The business had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.88 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Intuit Inc. will post 14.09 EPS for the current year.

Intuit Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Intuit's dividend payout ratio is 33.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on INTU shares. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Intuit from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $600.00 to $700.00 in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $880.00 price target on shares of Intuit and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. HSBC raised Intuit from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $699.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Intuit from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Intuit from $685.00 to $785.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Intuit has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $806.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intuit

In related news, Director Richard L. Dalzell sold 333 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $768.43, for a total transaction of $255,887.19. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,890,685.82. This trade represents a 2.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Lauren D. Hotz sold 1,738 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $784.09, for a total value of $1,362,748.42. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $356,760.95. The trade was a 79.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 279,800 shares of company stock valued at $209,725,054. Corporate insiders own 2.68% of the company's stock.

Intuit 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.

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