E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stake in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) by 42.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,481 shares of the software maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,393 shares during the quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Intuit were worth $7,216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Intuit by 83.2% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 590,085 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $371,984,000 after buying an additional 268,060 shares during the period. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Intuit in the fourth quarter worth $621,000. Retireful LLC bought a new stake in Intuit in the third quarter valued at $740,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Intuit in the 3rd quarter worth $56,144,000. Finally, Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its position in shares of Intuit by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 10,857 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $6,742,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intuit

In related news, EVP Laura A. Fennell sold 7,700 shares of Intuit stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Alex G. Balazs sold 23,810 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $665.98, for a total value of $15,856,983.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 489 shares in the company, valued at approximately $325,664.22. This represents a 97.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 220,811 shares of company stock worth $142,391,012. Company insiders own 2.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on INTU. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $760.00 price target on shares of Intuit in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Intuit from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $730.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Intuit from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Intuit from $790.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Intuit from $760.00 to $714.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $721.61.

Intuit Stock Down 1.8 %

Intuit stock opened at $606.37 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $169.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.87, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Intuit Inc. has a 12 month low of $553.24 and a 12 month high of $714.78. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $602.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $626.10.

Intuit Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Intuit’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.81%.

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.