Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $678.81, but opened at $636.10. Intuit shares last traded at $644.33, with a volume of 430,744 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

INTU has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Intuit from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Intuit from $690.00 to $795.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Intuit from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $750.00 to $685.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Intuit from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Intuit from $730.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Intuit presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $737.06.

Intuit Stock Down 5.4 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.90 billion, a PE ratio of 61.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $634.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $630.65.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The software maker reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.14. Intuit had a net margin of 18.19% and a return on equity of 18.64%. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Intuit Inc. will post 14.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intuit

In other news, CFO Sandeep Aujla sold 862 shares of Intuit stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $621.03, for a total transaction of $535,327.86. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 3,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,384,755.20. The trade was a 18.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kerry J. Mclean sold 11,079 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.61, for a total value of $6,997,607.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,752,985.01. This represents a 30.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 55,297 shares of company stock worth $35,220,046. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intuit

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in shares of Intuit in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,075,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Intuit by 14.2% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 19,676 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $12,790,000 after acquiring an additional 2,450 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in Intuit in the first quarter valued at approximately $294,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Intuit during the first quarter valued at approximately $505,000. Finally, Mattern Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intuit during the 1st quarter worth approximately $396,000. 83.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.