Short Interest in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) Expands By 42.5%

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,030,000 shares, a growth of 42.5% from the February 13th total of 3,530,000 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,810,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Intuit Stock Up 0.6 %

Intuit stock traded up $3.31 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $602.11. 1,558,687 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,433,660. Intuit has a 1-year low of $553.24 and a 1-year high of $714.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $598.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $623.66. The stock has a market cap of $168.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.27.

Intuit Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Intuit’s payout ratio is 38.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

INTU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on Intuit from $760.00 to $726.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Intuit from $800.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Intuit from $700.00 to $600.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $760.00 price objective on shares of Intuit in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Intuit from $712.00 to $722.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $721.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Intuit news, insider Scott D. Cook sold 6,446 shares of Intuit stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $604.26, for a total transaction of $3,895,059.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,219,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,758,436,774. The trade was a 0.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Laura A. Fennell sold 4,788 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $613.62, for a total transaction of $2,938,012.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 30,010 shares in the company, valued at $18,414,736.20. The trade was a 13.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 189,301 shares of company stock valued at $121,470,200 over the last 90 days. 2.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intuit

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Intuit during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Copia Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Intuit in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Intuit by 72.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 43 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Intuit during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Intuit during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 83.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.