Rockland Trust Co. Increases Position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Rockland Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,866 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $1,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of H&R Block during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in H&R Block in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in H&R Block by 4,152.9% in 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 period. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of H&R Block by 2,756.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 42,333.3% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270 shares during the period. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective 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.

H&R Block Price Performance

Shares of HRB remained flat at $62.48 during mid-day trading on Friday. The stock had a trading volume of 665,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,160,739. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.58. H&R Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.20 and a 52-week high of $68.45. The stock has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 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 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. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 220.05% and a net margin of 16.49%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.05 earnings per share. Sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. This is a boost from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.32%.

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

Insider Transactions at H&R Block

In other news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 18,474 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,910.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $515,280.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,474 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,910.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was 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 owns 90,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,871,491.15. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 115,927 shares of company stock worth $7,517,056 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.