Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,430,000 shares, an increase of 14.7% from the September 30th total of 2,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,290,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Intuit Stock Performance

Shares of Intuit stock traded down $6.63 on Thursday, reaching $614.48. 249,078 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,310,838. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.30, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.24. Intuit has a twelve month low of $481.94 and a twelve month high of $676.62. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $623.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $626.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The software maker reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.14. Intuit had a return on equity of 18.64% and a net margin of 18.19%. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Intuit will post 14.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intuit Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Intuit’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Intuit’s payout ratio is 38.38%.

Insider Transactions at Intuit

In related news, CFO Sandeep Aujla sold 862 shares of Intuit stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $621.03, for a total value of $535,327.86. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 3,840 shares in the company, valued at $2,384,755.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Intuit news, CFO Sandeep Aujla sold 862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $621.03, for a total value of $535,327.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 3,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,384,755.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Laura A. Fennell sold 30,159 shares of Intuit stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $642.36, for a total value of $19,372,935.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 52,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,427,129.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,297 shares of company stock valued at $35,220,046. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intuit

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Intuit by 68,404.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 484,328 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $300,768,000 after buying an additional 483,621 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Intuit by 940.4% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 315,670 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $205,186,000 after buying an additional 285,328 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Intuit by 1.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,057,696 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $16,937,502,000 after buying an additional 283,291 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Intuit in the 2nd quarter worth $184,982,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Intuit by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,616,811 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,062,578,000 after purchasing an additional 238,486 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

INTU has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Intuit from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $757.00 target price on shares of Intuit in a report on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America raised their target price on Intuit from $730.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a 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 note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $768.00 price objective on shares of Intuit in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $735.71.

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.