H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 315,211 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,341 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of H&R Block worth $16,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of H&R Block by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,936,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,735,000 after acquiring an additional 255,354 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in H&R Block by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,735,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,527,000 after purchasing an additional 476,892 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in H&R Block by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 884,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,748,000 after purchasing an additional 107,450 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in H&R Block by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 754,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,935,000 after purchasing an additional 25,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of H&R Block by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 698,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,364,000 after buying an additional 156,856 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 $54.17 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $7.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $53.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.39. H&R Block, Inc. has a one year low of $45.87 and a one year high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported ($1.73) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.59) by ($0.14). H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 179.15% and a net margin of 14.71%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRB has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th.

H&R Block Company Profile

H&R Block, Inc engages in the provision of tax return preparation solutions, financial products and small business solutions. The company was founded by Henry W. Bloch and Richard A. Bloch on January 25, 1955, and is headquartered in Kansas City, MO.