Optimist Retirement Group LLC Cuts Holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Optimist Retirement Group LLC decreased its stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 9.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,436 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,593 shares during the period. H&R Block comprises about 1.3% of Optimist Retirement Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Optimist Retirement Group LLC’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $2,464,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 42.3% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 49,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,438,000 after buying an additional 14,760 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of H&R Block by 270.7% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 16,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $885,000 after acquiring an additional 11,917 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 576.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 580,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,496,000 after acquiring an additional 494,457 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 156,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,547,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey Wright & Associates bought a new position in shares of H&R Block during the 4th quarter valued at $1,096,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRB has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sell” 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 report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th.

Insider Activity at H&R Block

In other H&R Block news, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.17, for a total value of $5,165,309.03. Following the completion of 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 44,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 90,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,871,491.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 160,902 shares of company stock worth $9,970,442 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Price Performance

Shares of H&R Block stock opened at $62.77 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.27. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.20 and a 12-month high of $68.45. The firm has a market cap of $8.76 billion, a PE ratio of 14.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.66. 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 (NYSE:HRB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 220.05% and a net margin of 16.49%. H&R Block’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.05 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. This is a positive change from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.32%.

H&R Block declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, August 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

H&R Block Company 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.