Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Stake in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its stake in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU - Free Report) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,479,717 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 37,854 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.89% of Intuit worth $1,530,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Intuit by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,317,086 shares of the software maker's stock worth $7,648,910,000 after purchasing an additional 221,885 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Intuit by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,978,713 shares of the software maker's stock worth $3,701,762,000 after acquiring an additional 80,463 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Intuit by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,827,671 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $2,376,984,000 after acquiring an additional 107,482 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Intuit by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,340,555 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $1,538,236,000 after acquiring an additional 23,995 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Intuit by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,300,789 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $1,428,790,000 after acquiring an additional 87,517 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

INTU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Intuit from $730.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Intuit from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Intuit from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Intuit from $800.00 to $775.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $737.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Laura A. Fennell sold 7,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $657.64, for a total value of $5,063,828.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,916 shares in the company, valued at $22,304,518.24. This trade represents a 18.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Sandeep Aujla sold 775 shares of Intuit stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $601.31, for a total value of $466,015.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,676,430.81. This trade represents a 14.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 126,732 shares of company stock valued at $81,378,070. Insiders own 2.68% of the company's stock.

Intuit Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of INTU stock traded down $15.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $656.45. 1,634,650 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,367,414. Intuit Inc. has a 52-week low of $557.29 and a 52-week high of $714.78. The stock has a market cap of $183.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.24. 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's fifty day moving average is $639.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $631.28.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The software maker reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.14. Intuit had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 17.59%. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Intuit Inc. will post 14.07 EPS for the current year.

Intuit Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. Intuit's payout ratio is currently 40.39%.

Intuit 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.