Utah Retirement Systems Raises Stake in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)

Utah Retirement Systems grew its stake in shares of Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 45,335 shares of the software maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Utah Retirement Systems’ holdings in Intuit were worth $28,493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Intuit in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Intuit by 72.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 43 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Intuit in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Intuit in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Intuit in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 83.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Intuit from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $640.00 to $660.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. HSBC raised shares of Intuit from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $699.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Intuit from $760.00 to $726.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Intuit from $730.00 to $720.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Intuit in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $717.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Intuit news, Director Eve B. Burton sold 1,702 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $1,021,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8 shares in the company, valued at $4,800. The trade was a 99.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Laura A. Fennell sold 8,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $612.46, for a total transaction of $4,999,510.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,882 shares in the company, valued at $13,401,849.72. This represents a 27.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,696 shares of company stock worth $14,347,731 in the last quarter. 2.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Intuit Stock Performance

Shares of INTU stock opened at $623.15 on Wednesday. Intuit Inc. has a 12 month low of $532.65 and a 12 month high of $714.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $595.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $616.14.

Intuit Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. Intuit’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.81%.

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.