Clearbridge Investments LLC Has $633.77 Million Stock Holdings in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)

Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) by 21.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 964,328 shares of the software maker’s stock after buying an additional 169,190 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.34% of Intuit worth $633,766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in INTU. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Intuit by 134.7% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 4,601 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $2,991,000 after purchasing an additional 2,641 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,990 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Intuit by 173.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,687,583 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $2,304,850,000 after buying an additional 2,336,654 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Intuit by 33.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 10,607 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $6,895,000 after acquiring an additional 2,655 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Intuit by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 11,257 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $7,398,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Laura A. Fennell sold 30,159 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $642.36, for a total transaction of $19,372,935.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 52,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,427,129.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Scott D. Cook sold 2,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $637.19, for a total value of $1,568,124.59. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,453,105 shares in the company, valued at $4,111,853,974.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Laura A. Fennell sold 30,159 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $642.36, for a total transaction of $19,372,935.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 52,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,427,129.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 51,583 shares of company stock worth $32,975,909 in the last quarter. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on INTU shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Intuit from $770.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $757.00 price objective on shares of Intuit in a research note on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Intuit from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on Intuit in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $760.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Intuit from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $735.71.

Intuit Stock Performance

Shares of INTU opened at $621.00 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $634.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $630.21. The company has a market cap of $173.60 billion, a PE ratio of 57.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.24. Intuit Inc. has a 12-month low of $473.56 and a 12-month high of $676.62.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The software maker reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. Intuit had a net margin of 18.19% and a return on equity of 18.64%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Intuit Inc. will post 14.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intuit Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. 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 (DPR) is currently 38.38%.

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.