Clearbridge Investments LLC Buys 136,252 Shares of Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)

Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) by 14.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,107,767 shares of the software maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 136,252 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.40% of Intuit worth $696,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Intuit in the fourth quarter valued at $2,290,419,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Intuit by 112,233.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,063,794 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $668,595,000 after buying an additional 1,062,847 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Intuit during the fourth quarter worth about $300,854,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Intuit by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,035,316 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $16,991,696,000 after acquiring an additional 353,185 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Intuit by 99.6% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 625,583 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $388,487,000 after acquiring an additional 312,212 shares during the last quarter. 83.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Intuit Trading Down 2.7 %

NASDAQ:INTU opened at $598.92 on Friday. Intuit Inc. has a 52 week low of $553.24 and a 52 week high of $714.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $595.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $622.38. The firm has a market cap of $167.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Intuit Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Intuit’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Intuit news, CFO Sandeep Aujla sold 109 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $628.50, for a total value of $68,506.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 1,944 shares in the company, valued at $1,221,804. This trade represents a 5.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Lauren D. Hotz sold 1,078 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $619.28, for a total transaction of $667,583.84. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,154,337.92. This represents a 36.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 132,896 shares of company stock valued at $82,946,716. 2.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $785.00 price target (up previously from $765.00) on shares of Intuit in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Intuit from $750.00 to $765.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. BNP Paribas downgraded Intuit from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $530.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Intuit from $760.00 to $726.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Intuit from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $640.00 to $660.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Intuit currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $721.61.

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.