SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 29,699 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

SG Americas Securities LLC trimmed its holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 54.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,549 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29,699 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $1,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in H&R Block in the first quarter worth $28,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. 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 worth $39,000 after buying an additional 706 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in H&R Block during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in H&R Block in the 2nd quarter valued at about $85,000. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

H&R Block Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:HRB opened at $61.87 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.86. H&R Block, Inc. has a one year low of $39.20 and a one year high of $68.45. The firm has a market cap of $8.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. H&R Block had a net margin of 16.49% and a negative return on equity of 220.05%. H&R Block’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.05 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This is an increase 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 2.42%. H&R Block’s payout ratio is currently 34.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at H&R Block

In other news, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.17, for a total transaction of $5,165,309.03. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 90,095 shares in the company, valued at $5,871,491.15. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Dara S. Redler sold 9,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total value of $583,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,414,430.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 115,927 shares of company stock valued at $7,517,056. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a report on Wednesday, August 14th.

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.