Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Reduces Stock Position in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC reduced its holdings in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,300 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 80 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Intuit were worth $4,745,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in INTU. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Intuit during the 4th quarter worth about $2,101,848,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Intuit by 173.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,687,583 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,304,850,000 after purchasing an additional 2,336,654 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in Intuit during the 4th quarter valued at about $467,852,000. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Intuit by 119.0% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 1,338,139 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $836,377,000 after buying an additional 727,185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Intuit by 60,534.9% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 472,952 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $295,609,000 after buying an additional 472,172 shares in the last quarter. 83.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intuit Price Performance

NASDAQ:INTU traded up $13.96 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $651.44. 1,478,025 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,347,828. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $616.71 and its 200-day moving average is $627.26. The firm has a market cap of $182.11 billion, a PE ratio of 60.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.21. Intuit Inc. has a twelve month low of $444.19 and a twelve month high of $676.62.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The software maker reported $9.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.12 by $1.76. The company had revenue of $6.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.65 billion. Intuit had a net margin of 19.43% and a return on equity of 18.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.80 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Intuit Inc. will post 11.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intuit Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. Intuit’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.21%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Mark P. Notarainni sold 465 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $604.58, for a total value of $281,129.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 869 shares in the company, valued at $525,380.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Intuit news, insider Scott D. Cook sold 27,309 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.16, for a total transaction of $16,198,606.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,524,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,870,020,221.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Mark P. Notarainni sold 465 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $604.58, for a total transaction of $281,129.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $525,380.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 193,937 shares of company stock worth $113,123,232 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $770.00 price objective on shares of Intuit in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Intuit in a report on Friday, June 14th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Intuit from $625.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Intuit from $720.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of Intuit in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Intuit has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $679.41.

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.