Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) Reaches New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $768.09 and last traded at $764.66, with a volume of 1526670 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $764.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

INTU has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $850.00 price target (up previously from $760.00) on shares of Intuit in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Intuit from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Intuit from $730.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. HSBC raised Intuit from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $699.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group set a $750.00 price objective on Intuit and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $785.33.

Intuit Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $640.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $624.89. The stock has a market cap of $213.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.24.

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 18.25% and a net margin of 17.59%. The firm had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.88 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Intuit's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Mark P. Notarainni sold 469 shares of Intuit stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $725.00, for a total transaction of $340,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,775. This trade represents a 96.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Eve B. Burton sold 1,702 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $1,021,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,800. The trade was a 99.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 225,592 shares of company stock worth $165,325,437 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intuit

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in INTU. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Intuit during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Copia Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Intuit in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Intuit by 72.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 43 shares of the software maker's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Intuit in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Intuit during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 83.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.