Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) Trading 2.1% Higher

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) shares shot up 2.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $630.45 and last traded at $627.01. 233,537 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 1,231,675 shares. The stock had previously closed at $614.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho lifted their target price on Intuit from $670.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Intuit from $735.00 to $745.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of Intuit in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Intuit from $600.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Intuit from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. 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, Intuit currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $650.23.

Intuit Trading Up 2.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $176.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 1.22. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $637.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $605.68.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The software maker reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.33. Intuit had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 17.51%. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. Intuit’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Intuit Inc. will post 11.27 EPS for the current year.

Intuit Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. Intuit’s dividend payout ratio is 36.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Alex G. Balazs sold 280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.38, for a total value of $178,186.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Lauren D. Hotz sold 745 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $655.13, for a total value of $488,071.85. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,083,313.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alex G. Balazs sold 280 shares of Intuit 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,717 shares of company stock valued at $3,117,156. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intuit

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intuit in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Intuit in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Intuit in the third quarter worth $26,000. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in Intuit by 119.0% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.