H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Stock Position Lifted by Lecap Asset Management Ltd.

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 257.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 26,443 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 19,050 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $1,680,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in H&R Block during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of H&R Block during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of H&R Block during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in H&R Block by 4,152.9% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 723 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 2,756.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

H&R Block Stock Performance

HRB opened at $60.50 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The business’s 50 day moving average is $62.86 and its 200-day moving average is $55.83. The stock has a market cap of $8.44 billion, a PE ratio of 13.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.66. H&R Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.20 and a twelve month high of $68.45.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.15. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.05 EPS. On average, analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. This is a boost from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.32%.

H&R Block announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, August 15th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on HRB shares. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target 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 research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 90,095 shares in the company, valued at $5,871,491.15. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other H&R Block news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $515,280.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,189,910.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.17, for a total transaction of $5,165,309.03. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 115,927 shares of company stock worth $7,517,056. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

H&R Block 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.