H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Shares Sold by Cetera Investment Advisers

Cetera Investment Advisers lowered its stake in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 18.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,315 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,058 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in H&R Block were worth $1,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRB. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of H&R Block during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 2,756.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of H&R Block by 4,152.9% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in H&R Block in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in H&R Block during the second quarter worth about $85,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on HRB shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling at H&R Block

In other H&R Block news, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.17, for a total transaction of $5,165,309.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 90,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,871,491.15. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 shares were 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 owns 90,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,871,491.15. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 893,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,332,168.83. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 115,927 shares of company stock valued at $7,517,056. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of H&R Block stock opened at $60.64 on Tuesday. 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 1-year low of $39.20 and a 1-year high of $68.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $62.14 and a 200-day moving average of $55.22. The company has a market capitalization of $8.46 billion, a PE ratio of 13.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.66.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 220.05% and a net margin of 16.49%. H&R Block’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.05 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This is a positive change from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.32%.

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

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.