Truist Financial Corp Acquires 18,148 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 262.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,072 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,148 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $1,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of H&R Block by 11.8% in 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 last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake 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 during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of H&R Block by 52.2% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,738,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,492,000 after purchasing an additional 939,270 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in H&R Block by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,484,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,726,000 after acquiring an additional 23,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in H&R Block by 39.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,131,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,418,000 after acquiring an additional 606,250 shares in the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on HRB. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, StockNews.com cut H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th.

H&R Block Price Performance

HRB stock opened at $60.90 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $62.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.10. H&R Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.20 and a 52-week high of $68.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.94, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.05 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th were issued a $0.375 dividend. 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 2.46%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. H&R Block’s payout ratio is presently 34.32%.

H&R Block announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, August 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total value 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 9,846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $639,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,028 shares in the company, valued at $1,626,820. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 893,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,332,168.83. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 115,927 shares of company stock worth $7,517,056 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.