Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,840,000 shares, a growth of 12.0% from the October 15th total of 3,430,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,330,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

INTU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Intuit from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Intuit from $690.00 to $795.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Intuit from $770.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Intuit from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $750.00 to $685.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on Intuit in a research report on Monday. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $700.00 price target on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $737.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Sandeep Aujla sold 775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $601.31, for a total value of $466,015.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,676,430.81. This trade represents a 14.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Scott D. Cook sold 2,461 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $637.19, for a total transaction of $1,568,124.59. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,453,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,111,853,974.95. The trade was a 0.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,297 shares of company stock valued at $35,220,046 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intuit

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Intuit by 68,404.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 484,328 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $300,768,000 after acquiring an additional 483,621 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its position in Intuit by 99.6% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 625,583 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $388,487,000 after acquiring an additional 312,212 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in Intuit during the second quarter worth approximately $184,982,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Intuit by 17.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,616,811 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,062,578,000 after buying an additional 238,486 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Intuit by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,317,086 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $7,648,910,000 after acquiring an additional 221,885 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.66% of the company’s stock.

Intuit Stock Performance

NASDAQ INTU traded down $9.06 on Monday, reaching $678.81. 1,580,348 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,336,806. Intuit has a one year low of $557.29 and a one year high of $714.78. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $633.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $630.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.26 billion, a PE ratio of 64.96, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.25.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The software maker reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.14. Intuit had a net margin of 18.19% and a return on equity of 18.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Intuit will post 14.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intuit Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Intuit’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. Intuit’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.81%.

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.