Caprock Group LLC Acquires New Position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 5,156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 5,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 7,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Burney Co. now owns 57,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,109,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 18,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $906,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at H&R Block

In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 44,975 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.55, for a total value of $2,453,386.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 712,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,860,656.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other H&R Block news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 44,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.55, for a total transaction of $2,453,386.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 712,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,860,656.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.17, for a total transaction of $5,165,309.03. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 90,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,871,491.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 152,902 shares of company stock valued at $9,455,162 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of H&R Block stock opened at $63.22 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $59.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. H&R Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.09 and a 52-week high of $68.45. The company has a market cap of $8.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.47, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.66.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.15. H&R Block had a net margin of 16.49% and a negative return on equity of 220.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.05 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, August 15th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. This is an increase from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. H&R Block’s payout ratio is presently 34.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th.

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.