Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 14,274 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 617 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Intuit were worth $8,864,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in INTU. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Intuit by 940.4% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 315,670 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $205,186,000 after purchasing an additional 285,328 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 valued at $16,937,502,000 after purchasing an additional 283,291 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in Intuit during the second quarter valued at $184,982,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Intuit by 17.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,616,811 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,062,578,000 after buying an additional 238,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Intuit by 21.3% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 964,328 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $633,766,000 after buying an additional 169,190 shares in the last quarter. 83.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Intuit from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Intuit from $745.00 to $740.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Intuit in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $760.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Intuit from $727.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $757.00 price objective on shares of Intuit in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $735.71.

Insider Transactions at Intuit

In other news, CFO Sandeep Aujla sold 775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $601.31, for a total transaction of $466,015.25. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Sandeep Aujla sold 775 shares of Intuit stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $601.31, for a total value of $466,015.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,676,430.81. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Scott D. Cook sold 2,461 shares of Intuit stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $637.19, for a total transaction of $1,568,124.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,453,105 shares in the company, valued at $4,111,853,974.95. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 55,297 shares of company stock worth $35,220,046. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Intuit Stock Up 0.7 %

Intuit stock traded up $4.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $613.29. The stock had a trading volume of 1,299,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,324,761. Intuit Inc. has a 52-week low of $473.56 and a 52-week high of $676.62. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $630.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $627.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $171.44 billion, a PE ratio of 56.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.24.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The software maker reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.14. Intuit had a net margin of 18.19% and a return on equity of 18.64%. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Intuit Inc. will post 14.04 EPS for the current year.

Intuit Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Intuit’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Intuit’s payout ratio is currently 38.38%.

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.