Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) Short Interest Update

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,910,000 shares, a decline of 16.1% from the March 15th total of 4,660,000 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,970,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Hsbc Global Res raised Intuit from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup cut their target price on Intuit from $760.00 to $726.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Scotiabank raised shares of Intuit from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $600.00 to $700.00 in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Intuit from $722.00 to $642.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Intuit from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $640.00 to $660.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $717.53.

Intuit Price Performance

Shares of Intuit stock traded down $0.60 during trading on Friday, reaching $614.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 153,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,573,271. The company has a market capitalization of $171.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.25. Intuit has a 12-month low of $532.65 and a 12-month high of $714.78. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $592.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $616.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Intuit Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Intuit's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.81%.

Insider Transactions at Intuit

In related news, insider Scott D. Cook sold 6,446 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $604.26, for a total transaction of $3,895,059.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,219,900 shares in the company, valued at $3,758,436,774. This represents a 0.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Eve B. Burton sold 1,702 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $1,021,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,800. The trade was a 99.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,696 shares of company stock valued at $14,347,731 in the last three months. 2.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intuit

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Intuit by 83.2% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Intuit in the 4th quarter valued at about $621,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Intuit by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 171,605 shares of the software maker's stock worth $107,854,000 after acquiring an additional 3,648 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Intuit by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 43,313 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $27,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Intuit by 109.9% during the 4th quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 24,666 shares of the software maker's stock worth $15,502,000 after purchasing an additional 12,916 shares in the last quarter. 83.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.