United Asset Strategies Inc. Increases Holdings in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)

United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its holdings in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,478 shares of the software maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Intuit were worth $924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of INTU. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in Intuit during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Intuit in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Steward Financial Group LLC grew its position in Intuit by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC now owns 60 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Aspire Private Capital LLC raised its stake in Intuit by 144.4% during the 3rd quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. bought a new position in shares of Intuit during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.66% of the company’s stock.

Intuit Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ INTU opened at $611.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $171.22 billion, a PE ratio of 62.40, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $645.48 and a 200 day moving average of $598.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. Intuit Inc. has a one year low of $400.22 and a one year high of $671.01.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The software maker reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.33. Intuit had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. Intuit’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Intuit Inc. will post 11.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intuit Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. Intuit’s payout ratio is currently 36.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on INTU shares. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Intuit from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Intuit from $600.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Intuit from $560.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on Intuit from $735.00 to $745.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of Intuit in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $645.00.

Insider Activity at Intuit

In other Intuit news, EVP Alex G. Balazs sold 280 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.38, for a total value of $178,186.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Intuit news, EVP Alex G. Balazs sold 280 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.38, for a total value of $178,186.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kerry J. Mclean sold 3,692 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $663.84, for a total transaction of $2,450,897.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,233,800.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,717 shares of company stock worth $3,117,156 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

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.