StockNews.com Lowers Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) to Hold

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

INTU has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Intuit from $585.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Intuit in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Intuit from $690.00 to $795.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays reduced their price target on Intuit from $745.00 to $740.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Intuit from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $750.00 to $685.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Intuit currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $720.37.

Intuit Stock Performance

Shares of INTU traded down $9.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $644.99. The stock had a trading volume of 2,960,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,329,659. The firm has a market cap of $180.31 billion, a PE ratio of 59.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $636.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $631.30. Intuit has a one year low of $473.56 and a one year high of $676.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The software maker reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.14. Intuit had a return on equity of 18.64% and a net margin of 18.19%. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Intuit will post 14.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intuit

In other news, CFO Sandeep Aujla sold 1,061 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $651.27, for a total transaction of $690,997.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 3,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,170,682.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Kerry J. Mclean sold 11,079 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.61, for a total value of $6,997,607.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,752,985.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Sandeep Aujla sold 1,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $651.27, for a total transaction of $690,997.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 3,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,170,682.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,389 shares of company stock valued at $14,231,188. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Intuit

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Intuit by 134.7% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 4,601 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,991,000 after buying an additional 2,641 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Intuit by 119.0% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 1,338,139 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $836,377,000 after acquiring an additional 727,185 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Intuit by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 179,801 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $112,381,000 after purchasing an additional 1,990 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Intuit by 173.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,687,583 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,304,850,000 after purchasing an additional 2,336,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Intuit by 33.4% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 10,607 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $6,895,000 after purchasing an additional 2,655 shares during the last quarter. 83.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Intuit Company 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.