Congress Asset Management Co. Raises Holdings in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)

Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in shares of Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 217,241 shares of the software maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,627 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Intuit were worth $134,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Intuit by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 616 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Intuit by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,708 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $3,710,000 after buying an additional 829 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC grew its position in shares of Intuit by 63.3% in the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 1,607 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,044,000 after buying an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Intuit by 61.9% during the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 1,099 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $708,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Intuit during the 1st quarter worth $3,338,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.66% of the company’s stock.

Intuit Trading Down 1.0 %

INTU traded down $6.29 on Thursday, reaching $614.82. 162,406 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,310,427. The company has a market cap of $171.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.30, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.24. 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 twelve month low of $481.94 and a twelve month high of $676.62. The company’s 50 day moving average is $623.98 and its 200-day moving average is $626.49.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) last announced its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. Intuit had a return on equity of 18.64% and a net margin of 18.19%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Intuit Inc. will post 14.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Intuit Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is a positive change from Intuit’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. Intuit’s payout ratio is presently 38.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on INTU shares. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Intuit in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $760.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Intuit from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut Intuit from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $750.00 to $685.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Intuit from $690.00 to $795.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Intuit from $770.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $735.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Sandeep Aujla sold 862 shares of Intuit stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $621.03, for a total value of $535,327.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 3,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,384,755.20. 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 hyperlink. In other news, CFO Sandeep Aujla sold 862 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,384,755.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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 Intuit stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 52,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,427,129.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 55,297 shares of company stock valued at $35,220,046. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

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.