Federated Hermes Inc. Reduces Holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Federated Hermes Inc. cut its stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 6.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,321 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,185 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $939,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 2.4% during the second quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $469,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its stake in H&R Block by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 5,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Burney Co. boosted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Burney Co. now owns 57,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,109,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 2.8% during the first quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 18,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $906,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group lifted its position in H&R Block by 8.9% during the second quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 6,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Stock Performance

Shares of HRB stock opened at $64.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.66. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.20 and a 12-month high of $68.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $60.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. H&R Block had a net margin of 16.49% and a negative return on equity of 220.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.05 EPS. Analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. 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 2.33%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 90,095 shares in the company, valued at $5,871,491.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 90,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,871,491.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 44,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.55, for a total value of $2,453,386.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 712,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,860,656.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 160,902 shares of company stock worth $9,970,442. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.