Deutsche Bank AG Purchases 1,111 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 44,395 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,111 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $2,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HRB. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of H&R Block during the 4th quarter worth $362,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of H&R Block by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 66,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,529,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares during the period. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of H&R Block during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of H&R Block by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 184,374 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,742,000 after acquiring an additional 1,542 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of H&R Block during the 4th quarter worth $75,000. Institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Transactions at H&R Block

In other 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 value of $3,405,096.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 844,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,458,311.20. This trade represents a 5.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Price Performance

HRB opened at $57.64 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. H&R Block, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.23 and a 1 year high of $68.45. The firm has a market cap of $7.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.88, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.28.

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

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

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