Financial software company Intuit (INTU -0.53%) posted some impressive quarterly results on Aug. 22. Its fiscal fourth-quarter revenue growth accelerated to a year-over-year growth rate of 15% -- up from 12% growth in fiscal Q3. Fueling the quarter was a 35% increase in online ecosystem revenue.
While Intuit may be a growth stock, investors shouldn't overlook how the company is returning some capital to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. Along with its fiscal fourth-quarter update on Thursday afternoon, the tech company announced a double-digit-percentage increase to its dividend. In addition, Intuit also discussed how it continues to buy back its stock.
Here's what investors should know about how Intuit is returning capital to shareholders.
QuickBooks Online. Image source: Intuit.
Boosting its dividend
On Thursday, Intuit said its board of directors approved a 13% dividend increase. The new quarterly dividend amounts to $0.53 on a quarterly basis or $2.12 annually, giving Intuit a 0.7% dividend yield. The first $0.53 quarterly dividend is payable on Oct. 18.
While Intuit's dividend yield is small, investors should note how rapidly it has grown in recent years. Over the last five years, Intuit's quarterly dividend has more than doubled, rising from $0.25 in the first quarter of fiscal 2015 to $0.53 in the current quarter.
Looking ahead, Intuit's dividend is likely to continue growing at a rapid rate. The financial software company raked in more than $2 billion of free cash flow (cash from operations less capital expenditures) in fiscal 2019 yet paid out just $501 million in dividends. On a similar note, Intuit has a low payout ratio (dividends paid as a percentage of earnings) of just 29%, leaving plenty of room for upside.
In addition, Intuit's bottom line is rising rapidly. The company's net income and earnings per share both increased 16% year over year in fiscal 2019. If this keeps up, Intuit could continue to increase its dividend without its payout ratio falling.
Buying back shares
But management's capital return program goes beyond dividends.
In its fiscal fourth quarter, management repurchased $148 million of its own stock. This brings total money spent on share repurchases throughout the year to $561 million.
Intuit now has $2.7 billion remaining in its share repurchase program -- and management plans to continue tapping into this authorization. Intuit CEO Michelle Clatterbuck said in the company's fiscal fourth-quarter earnings call that the company expects "to be in the market [for share repurchases] each quarter."
