Auxier Asset Management Lowers Stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Auxier Asset Management cut its position in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,697 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,823 shares during the quarter. Auxier Asset Management’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $2,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HRB. Boston Partners increased its position in H&R Block by 58.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,500,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,814,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660,319 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the fourth quarter worth $57,253,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of H&R Block by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,585,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,591,000 after acquiring an additional 695,581 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of H&R Block by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,701,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,448,000 after acquiring an additional 523,353 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new position in shares of H&R Block during the 4th quarter valued at $25,552,000. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at H&R Block

In other H&R Block news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 53,810 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.28, for a total transaction of $3,405,096.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 844,790 shares in the company, valued at $53,458,311.20. The trade was a 5.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

H&R Block Price Performance

Shares of HRB stock opened at $57.80 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.00. The company has a market capitalization of $7.74 billion, a PE ratio of 15.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.28. H&R Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.23 and a twelve month high of $68.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $5.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. H&R Block had a net margin of 14.71% and a negative return on equity of 179.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.94 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on HRB shares. Northcoast Research downgraded H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Friday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on H&R Block from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised H&R Block from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th.

H&R Block Profile

H&R Block, Inc engages in the provision of tax return preparation solutions, financial products and small business solutions. The company was founded by Henry W. Bloch and Richard A. Bloch on January 25, 1955, and is headquartered in Kansas City, MO.