Analysts Set Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) Target Price at $720.50

Shares of Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and fifteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $721.61.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on INTU shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Intuit from $800.00 to $775.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Intuit from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Intuit from $712.00 to $722.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Intuit from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $530.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Intuit from $790.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Intuit news, insider Scott D. Cook sold 73,655 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $664.94, for a total transaction of $48,976,155.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,301,286 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,189,977,112.84. This trade represents a 1.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Alex G. Balazs sold 23,810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $665.98, for a total value of $15,856,983.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 489 shares of the company's stock, valued at $325,664.22. This represents a 97.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 224,460 shares of company stock valued at $144,750,747 over the last quarter. 2.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intuit

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Intuit by 83.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 590,085 shares of the software maker's stock worth $371,984,000 after purchasing an additional 268,060 shares during the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Intuit in the 4th quarter worth about $621,000. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Intuit by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 35,902 shares of the software maker's stock worth $22,295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,853 shares during the last quarter. Retireful LLC purchased a new position in shares of Intuit in the 3rd quarter worth about $740,000. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of Intuit in the 3rd quarter worth about $56,144,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.66% of the company's stock.

Intuit Price Performance

Shares of Intuit stock traded up $19.44 on Wednesday, reaching $617.51. The stock had a trading volume of 1,614,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,910,791. Intuit has a 1 year low of $553.24 and a 1 year high of $714.78. The company has a market cap of $172.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business's 50 day moving average is $604.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $626.30.

Intuit Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Intuit's payout ratio is 38.81%.

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.