Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Lowers Stock Holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lessened its stake in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 230,012 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,635 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $14,617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in H&R Block during the 1st quarter worth $484,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in H&R Block by 152.9% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 58,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,808,000 after purchasing an additional 35,552 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in H&R Block by 500.0% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its position in H&R Block by 124.3% during the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 22,524 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 12,481 shares during the period. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group raised its stake in shares of H&R Block by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 6,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 1,710 shares in the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at H&R Block

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,332,168.83. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total transaction of $613,166.54. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 90,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,871,491.15. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 115,927 shares of company stock valued at $7,517,056 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HRB. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th.

H&R Block Stock Performance

Shares of HRB stock opened at $62.53 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $62.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.74. 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 $8.65 billion, a PE ratio of 14.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.67. H&R Block, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.20 and a 1 year high of $68.45.

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

H&R Block declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, August 15th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. This is a positive change from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.55%.

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.