AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Sells 30,902 Shares of Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd reduced its position in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) by 8.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 336,536 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 30,902 shares during the period. Intuit makes up 1.0% of AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned about 0.12% of Intuit worth $208,989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of INTU. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Intuit during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new position in Intuit during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Intuit during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Intuit during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Intuit during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. 83.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Intuit Stock Down 1.1 %

INTU stock traded down $6.63 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $614.48. The stock had a trading volume of 249,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,310,838. Intuit Inc. has a 52-week low of $481.94 and a 52-week high of $676.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The business has a 50-day moving average of $623.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $626.49. The firm has a market cap of $171.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.24.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The software maker reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. Intuit had a net margin of 18.19% and a return on equity of 18.64%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Intuit Inc. will post 14.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intuit Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. This is an increase from Intuit’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Intuit’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Intuit news, CFO Sandeep Aujla sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $617.28, for a total value of $2,469,120.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 452 shares in the company, valued at $279,010.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Alex G. Balazs sold 2,941 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $628.76, for a total value of $1,849,183.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,575.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Sandeep Aujla sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $617.28, for a total value of $2,469,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 452 shares in the company, valued at approximately $279,010.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,297 shares of company stock worth $35,220,046. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Intuit from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Intuit from $770.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Intuit from $585.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on Intuit in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $760.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Intuit from $730.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen 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 target price of $735.71.

Intuit Company 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.