Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) Downgraded to "Hold" Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $760.00 price target on shares of Intuit in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Intuit from $760.00 to $726.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Intuit from $700.00 to $600.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BNP Paribas cut Intuit from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $530.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Intuit in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $721.61.

Intuit Trading Up 3.3 %

INTU stock traded up $19.44 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $617.51. The company had a trading volume of 1,614,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,910,791. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Intuit has a 52 week low of $553.24 and a 52 week high of $714.78. The stock has a market cap of $172.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.95, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.24. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $604.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $626.30.

Intuit Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Laura A. Fennell sold 7,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $657.64, for a total transaction of $5,063,828.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,916 shares of the company's stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Alex G. Balazs sold 23,810 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 489 shares in the company, valued at approximately $325,664.22. This represents a 97.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 224,460 shares of company stock worth $144,750,747. Insiders own 2.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brown Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in Intuit by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Financial Advisors now owns 1,639 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Intuit by 1.5% during the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 1,078 shares of the software maker's stock worth $669,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. True North Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Intuit by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Great Diamond Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Intuit by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 627 shares of the software maker's stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Intuit by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 393 shares of the software maker's stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. 83.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.