Retirement Systems of Alabama Lowers Position in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its stake in shares of Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 61,047 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 713 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Intuit were worth $37,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of INTU. Denver PWM LLC purchased a new position in Intuit during the third quarter worth about $32,000. American Trust bought a new position in shares of Intuit during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,126,000. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Intuit by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 7,495 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $4,654,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Intuit by 47.5% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,355 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $8,914,000 after acquiring an additional 4,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in shares of Intuit by 7.1% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 25,869 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $16,065,000 after acquiring an additional 1,721 shares in the last quarter. 83.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on INTU. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Intuit in a research report on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $700.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Intuit from $800.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Intuit from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Intuit from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $757.00 target price on shares of Intuit in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Intuit presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $737.44.

Insider Activity

In other Intuit news, EVP Alex G. Balazs sold 23,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $665.98, for a total transaction of $15,856,983.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 489 shares in the company, valued at $325,664.22. This trade represents a 97.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Laura A. Fennell sold 7,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $657.64, for a total value of $5,063,828.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,304,518.24. The trade was a 18.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 150,542 shares of company stock worth $97,235,054 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.68% of the company’s stock.

Intuit Price Performance

Intuit stock opened at $656.45 on Friday. Intuit Inc. has a one year low of $557.29 and a one year high of $714.78. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $639.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $631.62. 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 $183.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.73, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.24.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) last announced 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 net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Intuit Inc. will post 14.07 EPS for the current year.

Intuit Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. Intuit’s payout ratio is 40.39%.

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.