Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Has $4.33 Million Stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,888 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,247 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC owned 0.06% of H&R Block worth $4,332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in H&R Block during the fourth quarter valued at $82,605,000. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of H&R Block by 30.2% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,270,919 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,614,000 after purchasing an additional 758,827 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 11.8% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,295,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,081,000 after purchasing an additional 558,076 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in H&R Block by 576.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 580,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,496,000 after purchasing an additional 494,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prevatt Capital Ltd acquired a new position in H&R Block in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $17,413,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $1,189,910.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 44,975 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $515,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,474 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,910.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 160,902 shares of company stock worth $9,970,442. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

H&R Block Stock Performance

HRB stock opened at $64.46 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.54. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.20 and a 12 month high of $68.45. The company has a market capitalization of $8.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.75, a P/E/G 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 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.05 earnings per share. H&R Block’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. This is an increase from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.32%.

H&R Block declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, August 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.