Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Boosts Stock Holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 0.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 255,600 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned 0.18% of H&R Block worth $13,861,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 26.2% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 127,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,920,000 after buying an additional 26,500 shares in the last quarter. Kendall Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 36.4% in the 2nd quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 42,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,293,000 after buying an additional 11,285 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 24,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,314,000 after buying an additional 1,472 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 16,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $890,000 after buying an additional 1,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Vision MN LLC bought a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the 2nd quarter valued at about $340,000. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

H&R Block Stock Up 1.2 %

HRB stock opened at $64.44 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.20 and a 200 day moving average of $53.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.99 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75, 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.20 and a 52 week high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. H&R Block had a net margin of 16.49% and a negative return on equity of 220.05%. H&R Block’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.05 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. This is a positive change 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 2.33%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.32%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. StockNews.com cut shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other H&R Block news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $515,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly 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 accessible through this link. In other H&R Block news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $515,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly 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 accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total transaction of $613,166.54. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 893,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,332,168.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 160,902 shares of company stock valued at $9,970,442. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.