H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Position Boosted by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,501 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,770 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $1,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kendall Capital Management grew its holdings in H&R Block by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 25,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,256,000 after buying an additional 8,565 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in H&R Block in the fourth quarter worth approximately $343,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in H&R Block in the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in H&R Block by 33.0% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 155,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,500,000 after purchasing an additional 38,476 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in H&R Block by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 23,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 3,405 shares during the period. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on HRB shares. StockNews.com upgraded H&R Block from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on H&R Block from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 85,921 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.21, for a total value of $4,228,172.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 755,359 shares in the company, valued at $37,171,216.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRB opened at $46.84 on Friday. H&R Block, Inc. has a one year low of $28.83 and a one year high of $52.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $47.71 and a 200-day moving average of $46.23. The company has a market capitalization of $6.54 billion, a PE ratio of 12.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.70.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.27) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.58) by $0.31. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 227.22% and a net margin of 16.98%. The company had revenue of $179.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $169.45 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.37) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. H&R Block’s payout ratio is currently 35.26%.

H&R Block Company 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.