Natixis Advisors LLC Purchases 2,113 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,802 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,113 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $1,640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in H&R Block in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 606.1% during the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 4,152.9% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 706 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 2,756.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 689 shares during the period. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on HRB shares. StockNews.com downgraded H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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 report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Friday, November 8th.

Insider Activity at H&R Block

In other 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 approximately $56,332,168.83. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,189,910.34. The trade was a 30.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

H&R Block Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of HRB stock opened at $59.57 on Tuesday. H&R Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $42.28 and a fifty-two week high of $68.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $61.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $8.16 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.67.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.13) by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $193.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.78 million. H&R Block had a net margin of 16.19% and a negative return on equity of 212.45%. During the same period last year, the business earned ($1.05) earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is 36.59%.

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

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.