Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) Stock Rating Upgraded by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $730.00 target price on the software maker’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $760.00 target price on shares of Intuit in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Intuit in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Intuit from $795.00 to $725.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Intuit from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Intuit from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $717.88.

Intuit Price Performance

Intuit stock opened at $613.84 on Wednesday. Intuit has a 1 year low of $553.24 and a 1 year high of $714.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $605.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $627.25. The company has a market cap of $171.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.60, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Intuit Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Intuit’s payout ratio is currently 38.81%.

Insider Activity at Intuit

In related news, insider Scott D. Cook sold 73,655 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $664.94, for a total value of $48,976,155.70. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,301,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,189,977,112.84. This represents a 1.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Mark P. Notarainni sold 3,649 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $646.68, for a total transaction of $2,359,735.32. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19 shares in the company, valued at $12,286.92. This represents a 99.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 218,014 shares of company stock valued at $140,855,687 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Intuit

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Intuit in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Intuit by 72.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 43 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Intuit during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in Intuit during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Intuit during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 83.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.