H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Holdings Lowered by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System trimmed its stake in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 39,060 shares of the company’s stock after selling 496 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $2,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 11.8% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,295,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,081,000 after purchasing an additional 558,076 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 30.2% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,270,919 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,614,000 after purchasing an additional 758,827 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in H&R Block by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,469,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,463,000 after acquiring an additional 79,759 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in H&R Block during the 4th quarter worth about $82,605,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in H&R Block by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 817,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,153,000 after acquiring an additional 35,333 shares during the period. 90.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

H&R Block Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of H&R Block stock opened at $63.12 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.66. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.78 and a 52-week high of $68.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.78.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.15. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 220.05% and a net margin of 16.49%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research 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 business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. This is an increase from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 buyback program on Thursday, August 15th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. StockNews.com lowered 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 target on H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th.

Insider Activity at H&R Block

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 44,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.55, for a total value of $2,453,386.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 712,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,860,656.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other H&R Block news, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of H&R Block 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 directly owns 90,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,871,491.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 44,975 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was 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 directly owns 712,386 shares in the company, valued at $38,860,656.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 152,902 shares of company stock valued at $9,455,162. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.