Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on INTU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Intuit from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Intuit from $790.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Intuit from $730.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Intuit from $800.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Intuit in a research report on Monday, November 18th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $700.00 price objective for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Intuit currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $737.44.

Intuit Price Performance

Shares of INTU opened at $640.12 on Friday. Intuit has a fifty-two week low of $557.29 and a fifty-two week high of $714.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $634.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $631.19. The company has a market cap of $179.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.15, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The software maker reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.14. Intuit had a net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 18.28%. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Intuit will post 14.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intuit

In other Intuit news, CFO Sandeep Aujla sold 862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $621.03, for a total transaction of $535,327.86. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 3,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,384,755.20. This trade represents a 18.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Eve B. Burton sold 2,988 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $649.87, for a total transaction of $1,941,811.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 55,265 shares of company stock worth $35,200,125. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Intuit

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in INTU. LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Intuit in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Intuit in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Intuit in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Intuit during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Intuit during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other 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.