H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Shares Sold by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. decreased its stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 1.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 188,741 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,986 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of H&R Block worth $11,994,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in H&R Block by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,738,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,492,000 after purchasing an additional 939,270 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in H&R Block by 30.2% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,270,919 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,614,000 after buying an additional 758,827 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in H&R Block by 1,630.9% during the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 777,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,395,000 after buying an additional 732,359 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in H&R Block by 39.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,131,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,418,000 after buying an additional 606,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 576.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 580,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,496,000 after acquiring an additional 494,457 shares in the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at H&R Block

In other H&R Block news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total value of $613,166.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 893,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,332,168.83. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $515,280.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,189,910.34. The trade was a 30.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of H&R Block stock opened at $59.33 on Friday. H&R Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $42.28 and a twelve month high of $68.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $60.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.13 billion, a PE ratio of 14.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.67.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.13) by ($0.04). H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 212.45% and a net margin of 16.19%. The firm had revenue of $193.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.78 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.05) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, August 15th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com downgraded H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

H&R Block Company Profile

H&R Block, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides assisted income tax return preparation and do-it-yourself (DIY) tax return preparation services and products to the general public primarily in the United States, Canada, and Australia. It offers assisted income tax return preparation and related services through a system of retail offices operated directly by the company or its franchisees.