Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Raises Holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 26.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 127,600 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,500 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.09% of H&R Block worth $6,920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of H&R Block during the first quarter worth $28,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in H&R Block by 2,756.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in H&R Block by 4,152.9% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of H&R Block in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in shares of H&R Block in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other H&R Block news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $515,280.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,474 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,910.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other H&R Block news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total transaction of $613,166.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 893,169 shares in the company, valued at $56,332,168.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 18,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,189,910.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 160,902 shares of company stock worth $9,970,442 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Stock Down 1.2 %

H&R Block stock opened at $63.46 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $60.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.79. 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 firm has a market cap of $8.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.66. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 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 business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.05 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, August 15th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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 dividend of $0.375 per share. This is a positive change from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on HRB shares. StockNews.com lowered H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, 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.

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.