Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Increases Stake in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 49,681 shares of the software maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Intuit were worth $32,651,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in INTU. Aveo Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Intuit in the 4th quarter worth about $203,000. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Intuit by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 650 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Intuit by 31.6% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after buying an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in Intuit by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 8,279 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $5,175,000 after buying an additional 1,498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Intuit by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 449 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.66% of the company’s stock.

Intuit Price Performance

INTU opened at $654.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. Intuit Inc. has a 52-week low of $473.56 and a 52-week high of $676.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.89 billion, a PE ratio of 60.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $636.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $631.46.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The software maker reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.14. Intuit had a return on equity of 18.64% and a net margin of 18.19%. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Intuit Inc. will post 14.06 EPS for the current year.

Intuit Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. This is a boost from Intuit’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Intuit’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Alex G. Balazs sold 2,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $628.76, for a total value of $1,849,183.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,575.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Intuit 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 value of $690,997.47. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 3,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,170,682.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alex G. Balazs sold 2,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $628.76, for a total value of $1,849,183.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20 shares in the company, valued at $12,575.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,389 shares of company stock valued at $14,231,188 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on INTU. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Intuit from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Intuit from $770.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Intuit from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 31st. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Intuit in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $768.00 price target (up previously from $760.00) on shares of Intuit in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $720.37.

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.