Short Interest in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) Drops By 13.3%

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) saw a large drop in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,990,000 shares, a drop of 13.3% from the September 15th total of 3,450,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,310,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on INTU. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Intuit in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $760.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Intuit from $727.00 to $750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $757.00 price objective on shares of Intuit in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Barclays cut their target price on Intuit from $745.00 to $740.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Intuit from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $750.00 to $685.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $735.71.

Insider Activity at Intuit

In other news, EVP Laura A. Fennell sold 30,159 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $642.36, for a total value of $19,372,935.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 52,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,427,129.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Intuit news, CFO Sandeep Aujla sold 775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $601.31, for a total value of $466,015.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,676,430.81. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Laura A. Fennell sold 30,159 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $642.36, for a total value of $19,372,935.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 52,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,427,129.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,297 shares of company stock valued at $35,220,046 in the last 90 days. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intuit

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in INTU. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Intuit by 1.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,057,696 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $16,937,502,000 after buying an additional 283,291 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Intuit by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,340,555 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,538,236,000 after acquiring an additional 23,995 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Intuit by 17.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,616,811 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,062,578,000 after purchasing an additional 238,486 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Intuit by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,407,862 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $925,262,000 after purchasing an additional 56,370 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Intuit by 1.0% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,188,779 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $772,706,000 after purchasing an additional 12,068 shares during the last quarter. 83.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Intuit Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of INTU traded down $8.50 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $609.39. 1,132,350 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,326,189. Intuit has a 52 week low of $473.56 and a 52 week high of $676.62. The company has a market cap of $170.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.00, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $631.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $627.98. 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 earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The software maker reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.14. Intuit had a net margin of 18.19% and a return on equity of 18.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Intuit will post 14.04 EPS for the current year.

Intuit Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Intuit’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Intuit’s dividend payout ratio is 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.