Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-four ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, nineteen have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $787.95.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $742.00 price target (up from $642.00) on shares of Intuit in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $850.00 target price (up previously from $770.00) on shares of Intuit in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Bank of America upped their price target on Intuit from $730.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Intuit from $750.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Intuit from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $699.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd.

Insider Activity at Intuit

In other news, insider Scott D. Cook sold 72,442 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $741.29, for a total value of $53,700,530.18. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,063,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,494,808,208.55. This represents a 1.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Alex G. Balazs sold 1,459 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $770.80, for a total transaction of $1,124,597.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 288,408 shares of company stock worth $213,441,865 in the last three months. 2.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intuit

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Copia Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Intuit during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in Intuit by 72.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 43 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Intuit during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Intuit in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Vista Cima Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Intuit in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. 83.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intuit Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:INTU traded down $12.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $753.98. 1,148,047 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,611,753. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $660.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $629.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.32 billion, a PE ratio of 73.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.28. Intuit has a 12 month low of $532.65 and a 12 month high of $773.45.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU - Get Free Report) last released 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 analyst estimates of $7.56 billion. Intuit had a net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Intuit will post 14.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intuit Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Intuit's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.77%.

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.