Optimist Retirement Group LLC Sells 4,593 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Optimist Retirement Group LLC reduced its position in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 9.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 45,436 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,593 shares during the quarter. H&R Block accounts for about 1.3% of Optimist Retirement Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Optimist Retirement Group LLC’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $2,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of H&R Block during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $439,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of H&R Block in the fourth quarter worth $82,605,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of H&R Block by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 20,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $972,000 after purchasing an additional 4,348 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new position in shares of H&R Block during the fourth quarter valued at $403,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of H&R Block by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 156,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,547,000 after buying an additional 1,039 shares during the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at H&R Block

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 44,975 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.55, for a total transaction of $2,453,386.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 712,386 shares in the company, valued at $38,860,656.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $515,280.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,189,910.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 44,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.55, for a total transaction 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 approximately $38,860,656.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 160,902 shares of company stock worth $9,970,442 in the last 90 days. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HRB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th.

H&R Block Stock Down 1.1 %

H&R Block stock opened at $62.77 on Thursday. H&R Block, Inc. has a one year low of $39.20 and a one year high of $68.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.57 and a 200 day moving average of $53.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $8.76 billion, a PE ratio of 14.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.66.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.05 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 EPS for the current year.

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

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 $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. This is an increase from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.32%.

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.