Invst LLC Raises Stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Invst LLC lifted its position in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,187 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the quarter. Invst LLC’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $961,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,253,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $753,143,000 after purchasing an additional 35,945 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,219,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,796,000 after purchasing an additional 282,633 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,701,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,448,000 after purchasing an additional 523,353 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,735,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,527,000 after purchasing an additional 476,892 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at H&R Block

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on HRB shares. Northcoast Research cut H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on H&R Block from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded H&R Block from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th.

H&R Block Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE HRB opened at $57.80 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.74 billion, a PE ratio of 15.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.28. H&R Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.23 and a fifty-two week high of $68.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $57.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $5.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.25 billion. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 179.15% and a net margin of 14.71%. H&R Block’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.94 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

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

About H&R Block

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.