Kendall Capital Management Purchases 11,285 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Kendall Capital Management grew its position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 36.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,290 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,285 shares during the quarter. Kendall Capital Management’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $2,293,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of H&R Block in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of H&R Block by 2,756.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of H&R Block by 4,152.9% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 723 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of H&R Block in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. bought a new position in shares of H&R Block during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 44,975 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 712,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,860,656.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $515,280.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,189,910.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 44,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.55, for a total transaction of $2,453,386.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 quarter, insiders have sold 160,902 shares of company stock valued at $9,970,442. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

H&R Block Price Performance

HRB stock opened at $62.77 on Thursday. H&R Block, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.20 and a 52 week high of $68.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.66.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.05 earnings per share. H&R Block’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. This is an increase from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.32%.

H&R Block declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, August 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

H&R Block Profile

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.