Grunden Financial Advisory Inc. Makes New Investment in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)

Grunden Financial Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 494 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $309,000. Intuit comprises approximately 0.2% of Grunden Financial Advisory Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. boosted its holdings in Intuit by 39.6% during the 1st quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 3,648 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,035 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Intuit by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 504,309 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $242,492,000 after acquiring an additional 48,196 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Intuit by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,227 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,552,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Intuit by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 53,691 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $25,825,000 after acquiring an additional 3,576 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Intuit by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 34,207 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $16,448,000 after acquiring an additional 2,127 shares during the period. 83.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Intuit Stock Performance

Shares of INTU traded down $4.83 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $608.38. The stock had a trading volume of 790,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,243,946. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Intuit Inc. has a 12 month low of $400.22 and a 12 month high of $671.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.35 billion, a PE ratio of 62.04, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $644.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $598.39.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The software maker reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. Intuit’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Intuit Inc. will post 11.27 EPS for the current year.

Intuit Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Intuit’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on INTU shares. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Intuit from $678.00 to $712.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Mizuho increased their price objective on Intuit from $670.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Intuit from $615.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Intuit from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Intuit from $735.00 to $745.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $645.00.

Insider Activity at Intuit

In other news, EVP Kerry J. Mclean sold 3,692 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $663.84, for a total value of $2,450,897.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,233,800.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Kerry J. Mclean sold 3,692 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,233,800.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Lauren D. Hotz sold 745 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $655.13, for a total value of $488,071.85. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,180 shares in the company, valued at $2,083,313.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,717 shares of company stock worth $3,117,156. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Intuit 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.