Artemis Investment Management LLP Decreases Stock Position in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)

Artemis Investment Management LLP trimmed its position in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU - Free Report) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,373 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 1,713 shares during the quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP's holdings in Intuit were worth $11,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Intuit during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Denver PWM LLC bought a new position in Intuit in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Intuit by 110.3% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 61 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Intuit during the second quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its position in Intuit by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 83 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. 83.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on INTU. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Intuit from $790.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $760.00 price target on shares of Intuit in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Intuit from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank began coverage on Intuit in a research note on Monday, November 18th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $700.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Intuit from $800.00 to $775.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $726.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Laura A. Fennell sold 4,788 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $613.62, for a total transaction of $2,938,012.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 30,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,414,736.20. This represents a 13.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Scott D. Cook sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $641.82, for a total value of $48,136,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,378,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,093,595,351.10. This represents a 1.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 293,014 shares of company stock worth $188,992,187 in the last ninety days. 2.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Intuit Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:INTU traded down $3.14 during trading on Monday, hitting $604.13. 2,830,783 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,248,995. The company has a market cap of $169.11 billion, a PE ratio of 58.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.25. Intuit Inc. has a 52-week low of $557.29 and a 52-week high of $714.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $646.09 and a 200 day moving average of $636.77.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The software maker reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. Intuit had a net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Intuit Inc. will post 14.09 EPS for the current year.

Intuit Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Intuit's payout ratio is 40.39%.

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.