Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of Intuit in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Intuit from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Intuit from $560.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Intuit from $615.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Intuit from $735.00 to $745.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $650.23.

Intuit Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ INTU opened at $638.39 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $639.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $604.28. Intuit has a 1-year low of $400.22 and a 1-year high of $671.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $178.75 billion, a PE ratio of 65.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.21.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The software maker reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.33. Intuit had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 17.51%. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. Intuit’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Intuit will post 11.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Alex G. Balazs sold 280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.38, for a total transaction of $178,186.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Intuit news, EVP Alex G. Balazs sold 280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.38, for a total value of $178,186.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kerry J. Mclean sold 3,692 shares of Intuit stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $663.84, for a total transaction of $2,450,897.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,948 shares in the company, valued at $15,233,800.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,717 shares of company stock valued at $3,117,156 over the last 90 days. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in INTU. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Intuit in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Intuit in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Intuit during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. West Branch Capital LLC raised its holdings in Intuit by 79.2% during the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 43 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Intuit by 119.0% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.66% of the company’s stock.

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.