Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Grows Position in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its stake in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) by 79.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 108,849 shares of the software maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,091 shares during the period. Intuit makes up 0.9% of Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Intuit were worth $68,439,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Intuit during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Intuit during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Intuit during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Denver PWM LLC purchased a new position in shares of Intuit during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Intuit by 110.3% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 61 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Lauren D. Hotz sold 1,078 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $619.28, for a total value of $667,583.84. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,864 shares in the company, valued at $1,154,337.92. This represents a 36.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Scott D. Cook sold 75,000 shares of Intuit stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $641.82, for a total value of $48,136,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,378,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,093,595,351.10. This represents a 1.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 293,014 shares of company stock valued at $188,992,187 over the last quarter. 2.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Intuit Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:INTU opened at $604.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Intuit Inc. has a 12 month low of $557.29 and a 12 month high of $714.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $633.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $634.26.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The software maker reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.14. Intuit had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 17.59%. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Intuit Inc. will post 14.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intuit Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Intuit’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on INTU shares. Barclays cut their price objective on Intuit from $800.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Intuit from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Intuit in a research note on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $700.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Intuit from $712.00 to $722.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Intuit from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $726.53.

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.