Lincoln National Corp Increases Stake in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)

Lincoln National Corp increased its position in shares of Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) by 33.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,404 shares of the software maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,101 shares during the quarter. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in Intuit were worth $2,753,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Intuit by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,331,318 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $12,942,784,000 after acquiring an additional 117,478 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Intuit by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,636,635 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $2,879,982,000 after buying an additional 266,803 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Intuit by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,848,401 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,966,304,000 after buying an additional 137,198 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Intuit by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,212,771 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,641,533,000 after buying an additional 160,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Intuit by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,114,957 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,946,943,000 after acquiring an additional 270,414 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.66% of the company’s stock.

Intuit Price Performance

INTU traded up $6.51 on Tuesday, hitting $641.15. 757,578 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,231,888. Intuit Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $400.22 and a fifty-two week high of $671.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 1.22. The business’s fifty day moving average is $636.97 and its 200 day moving average is $607.50.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The software maker reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.39 billion. Intuit had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 18.35%. The company’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Intuit Inc. will post 11.27 EPS for the current year.

Intuit Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. Intuit’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Intuit from $678.00 to $712.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Intuit from $670.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Intuit from $700.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Intuit from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Intuit from $615.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Intuit presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $650.23.

Insider Transactions at Intuit

In other Intuit news, EVP Alex G. Balazs sold 280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.38, for a total value of $178,186.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Kerry J. Mclean sold 3,692 shares of Intuit stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,233,800.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Alex G. Balazs sold 280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.38, for a total transaction of $178,186.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,717 shares of company stock valued at $3,117,156 in the last 90 days. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.