Short Interest in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) Drops By 14.7%

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,470,000 shares, a drop of 14.7% from the January 15th total of 4,070,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,720,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Intuit Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ INTU traded down $13.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $565.47. 1,946,930 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,749,110. 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 company has a market capitalization of $158.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $614.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $628.50. Intuit has a 52-week low of $557.29 and a 52-week high of $714.78.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Intuit will post 14.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intuit

In other Intuit news, insider Scott D. Cook sold 75,000 shares of Intuit stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $641.82, for a total value of $48,136,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,378,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,093,595,351.10. The trade was a 1.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Lauren D. Hotz sold 1,078 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $619.28, for a total value 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 trade represents a 36.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 293,014 shares of company stock valued at $188,992,187. 2.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of INTU. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Intuit during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Intuit in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Intuit by 72.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 43 shares of the software maker's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Intuit in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Intuit in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on INTU. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Intuit from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $760.00 price target on shares of Intuit in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective 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. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Intuit in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Intuit in a research report on Monday, November 18th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $700.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $726.53.

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.