H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Shares Acquired by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 176.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,712 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,730 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRB. CWM LLC lifted its stake in H&R Block by 270.7% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 16,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $885,000 after purchasing an additional 11,917 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 576.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 580,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,496,000 after buying an additional 494,457 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of H&R Block by 24.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 94,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,629,000 after acquiring an additional 18,556 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of H&R Block during the 1st quarter worth $10,581,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LP grew its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 280.5% in the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 39,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,142,000 after acquiring an additional 29,117 shares during the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

H&R Block Stock Performance

Shares of H&R Block stock opened at $59.29 on Friday. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $42.28 and a 12 month high of $68.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The stock has a market cap of $8.13 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.95.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $193.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.78 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.05) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. H&R Block’s payout ratio is presently 36.59%.

H&R Block announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, August 15th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling at H&R Block

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

H&R Block 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.