EP Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 4,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Optimist Retirement Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the 4th quarter worth $2,503,000. Point72 Europe London LLP bought a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the 4th quarter worth $1,275,000. Redwood Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of H&R Block by 239.4% in the 4th quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 125,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,051,000 after buying an additional 88,246 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP raised its stake in shares of H&R Block by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 381,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,430,000 after buying an additional 50,946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sage Rock Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the 4th quarter worth $160,000. Institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HRB shares. Barrington Research boosted their target price on H&R Block from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. StockNews.com raised H&R Block from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th.

H&R Block Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of H&R Block stock opened at $53.00 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $49.91 and its 200-day moving average is $48.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.40 billion, a PE ratio of 12.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.69. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.66 and a 12-month high of $54.21.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $4.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.66 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 224.81% and a net margin of 17.87%. H&R Block’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.20 earnings per share. Analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. H&R Block’s payout ratio is 29.29%.

About H&R Block

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.