Park Avenue Securities LLC Raises Stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 1.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,857 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $1,008,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in HRB. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in H&R Block in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in H&R Block by 2,756.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in H&R Block during the second quarter worth $85,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total value of $613,166.54. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 893,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,332,168.83. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of H&R Block 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 owns 90,095 shares in the company, valued at $5,871,491.15. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 115,927 shares of company stock worth $7,517,056. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

H&R Block Trading Up 0.2 %

H&R Block stock opened at $61.87 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.63 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $61.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.86. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. This is an increase from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. H&R Block’s payout ratio 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 repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase 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 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.