4,180 Shares in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Acquired by Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in H&R Block by 2.4% in the second quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $469,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 5,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. boosted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Burney Co. now owns 57,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,109,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in H&R Block by 2.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group raised its position in H&R Block by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 6,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Price Performance

HRB opened at $62.77 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.27. The company has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.66. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.20 and a 12-month high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.05 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. This is an increase from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. H&R Block’s payout ratio is currently 34.32%.

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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HRB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. StockNews.com downgraded H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling at H&R Block

In related news, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 90,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,871,491.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was 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 directly owns 90,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,871,491.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 44,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.55, for a total value of $2,453,386.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 712,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,860,656.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 160,902 shares of company stock valued at $9,970,442. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.