Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 464,934 shares of the company’s stock after selling 62,441 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.33% of H&R Block worth $25,213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TrueMark Investments LLC bought a new position in H&R Block during the second quarter valued at $294,000. F M Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of H&R Block during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,193,000. Burney Co. raised its holdings in H&R Block by 0.6% during 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 period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 3.5% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 27,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares during the period. Finally, My Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in H&R Block during the 2nd quarter worth about $310,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of H&R Block stock opened at $63.31 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.10. The firm has a market cap of $8.83 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.68. H&R Block, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.70 and a 1 year high of $68.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 220.05% and a net margin of 16.49%. The company’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.05 earnings per share. Analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This is a boost 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 2.37%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.32%.

H&R Block declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, August 15th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Transactions at H&R Block

In related news, insider Dara S. Redler sold 9,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total transaction of $583,310.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,414,430.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Dara S. Redler sold 9,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total transaction of $583,310.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,414,430.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 90,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,871,491.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 143,180 shares of company stock worth $8,841,995. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.