H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Position Lifted by Cetera Investment Advisers

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,598 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,313 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in H&R Block were worth $1,987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in H&R Block by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of H&R Block by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $653,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of H&R Block by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in shares of H&R Block by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 6,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of H&R Block by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

H&R Block Stock Up 0.6%

HRB stock opened at $58.02 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.23 and a fifty-two week high of $68.45. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.01. The stock has a market cap of $7.77 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.28.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. H&R Block had a net margin of 14.71% and a negative return on equity of 179.15%. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.94 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other H&R Block news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 53,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.28, for a total transaction of $3,405,096.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 844,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,458,311.20. This trade represents a 5.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.