Truist Financial Corp Increases Holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 262.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,072 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 18,148 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $1,360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HRB. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in H&R Block by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,738,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,492,000 after buying an additional 939,270 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of H&R Block by 30.2% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,270,919 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,614,000 after acquiring an additional 758,827 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of H&R Block by 39.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,131,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,418,000 after acquiring an additional 606,250 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of H&R Block by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,295,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,081,000 after acquiring an additional 558,076 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of H&R Block by 576.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 580,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,496,000 after acquiring an additional 494,457 shares during the period. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

H&R Block Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of H&R Block stock opened at $60.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.66. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $62.02 and a 200 day moving average of $55.10. H&R Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.20 and a fifty-two week high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. H&R Block had a net margin of 16.49% and a negative return on equity of 220.05%. H&R Block’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.05 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. This is a boost from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. H&R Block’s payout ratio is presently 34.32%.

H&R Block announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, August 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HRB. Barrington Research reissued 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 downgraded shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other H&R Block news, insider Dara S. Redler sold 9,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total value of $583,310.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,414,430.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other H&R Block news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total value of $613,166.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 893,169 shares in the company, valued at $56,332,168.83. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Dara S. Redler sold 9,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total transaction of $583,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,414,430.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 115,927 shares of company stock worth $7,517,056 in the last 90 days. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.