Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) Stock Price Down 3.6% After Analyst Downgrade

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) shares fell 3.6% during mid-day trading on Friday after StockNews.com downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as low as $645.98 and last traded at $654.50. 839,122 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 1,346,641 shares. The stock had previously closed at $678.70.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on INTU. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $757.00 target price on shares of Intuit in a research report on Friday, August 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Intuit from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Intuit from $768.00 to $765.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $760.00 price target on shares of Intuit in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Intuit from $800.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $737.44.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Scott D. Cook sold 2,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $637.19, for a total value of $1,568,124.59. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,453,105 shares in the company, valued at $4,111,853,974.95. This represents a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alex G. Balazs sold 2,941 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $628.76, for a total transaction of $1,849,183.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20 shares in the company, valued at $12,575.20. This trade represents a 99.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,297 shares of company stock worth $35,220,046. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intuit

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Intuit by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,415 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,500,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Intuit in the third quarter worth $7,506,000. Invst LLC purchased a new stake in Intuit during the third quarter valued at $203,000. Unigestion Holding SA bought a new position in Intuit in the third quarter valued at about $1,136,000. Finally, Soltis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Intuit by 13.8% in the third quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 428 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 83.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Intuit Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $634.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $631.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.31 billion, a PE ratio of 62.15, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The software maker reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.14. Intuit had a net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 18.28%. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Intuit Inc. will post 14.05 earnings per share for the current year.

About Intuit

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.