Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $679.35 and last traded at $677.56, with a volume of 114656 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $674.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on INTU. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Intuit from $690.00 to $795.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Intuit from $585.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Intuit from $745.00 to $740.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Intuit from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Intuit from $730.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $735.71.

Intuit Trading Up 0.6 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $623.43 and a 200 day moving average of $626.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.12 billion, a PE ratio of 64.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The software maker reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Intuit had a return on equity of 18.64% and a net margin of 18.19%. Intuit’s quarterly revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Intuit Inc. will post 14.04 EPS for the current year.

Intuit Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is a positive change from Intuit’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. Intuit’s payout ratio is presently 39.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Laura A. Fennell sold 30,159 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $642.36, for a total transaction of $19,372,935.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 52,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,427,129.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Laura A. Fennell sold 30,159 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $642.36, for a total value of $19,372,935.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 52,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,427,129.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Sandeep Aujla sold 862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $621.03, for a total transaction of $535,327.86. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 3,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,384,755.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,297 shares of company stock worth $35,220,046 over the last quarter. 2.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Intuit

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Intuit by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 582 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its holdings in shares of Intuit by 10.5% in the second quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 168 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Intuit by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC now owns 448 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Intuit by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. now owns 398 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC raised its holdings in Intuit by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,024,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.66% of the company’s stock.

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.