Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) Short Interest Up 10.3% in June

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,740,000 shares, a growth of 10.3% from the June 15th total of 3,390,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,430,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Intuit Price Performance

Shares of INTU traded down $7.24 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $658.91. 1,156,259 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,334,168. Intuit has a one year low of $473.56 and a one year high of $676.62. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $625.08 and a 200 day moving average of $631.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.79, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 1.23.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The software maker reported $9.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.12 by $1.76. Intuit had a net margin of 19.43% and a return on equity of 18.61%. The business had revenue of $6.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.80 earnings per share. Intuit’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Intuit will post 11.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intuit Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Intuit’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.21%.

Insider Transactions at Intuit

In other news, EVP Mark P. Notarainni sold 465 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Scott D. Cook sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $597.85, for a total value of $44,838,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,791,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,060,279,741.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark P. Notarainni sold 465 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $604.58, for a total transaction of $281,129.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $525,380.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 195,963 shares of company stock worth $114,442,445. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intuit

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Intuit in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Intuit by 79.2% in the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 43 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Intuit by 119.0% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Intuit in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in Intuit in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 83.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on INTU. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Intuit from $760.00 to $730.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 24th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of Intuit in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Intuit from $720.00 to $690.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 24th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Intuit from $720.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Intuit in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $760.00 price objective on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Intuit presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $687.22.

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.