Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 141,382 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 30.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 323,552 shares of the company’s stock after selling 141,382 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $20,562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRB. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of H&R Block by 42.3% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 49,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,438,000 after acquiring an additional 14,760 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its position in H&R Block by 270.7% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 16,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $885,000 after buying an additional 11,917 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of H&R Block by 576.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 580,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,496,000 after buying an additional 494,457 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of H&R Block by 24.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 94,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,629,000 after buying an additional 18,556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of H&R Block during the 1st quarter worth $10,581,000. Institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Stock Performance

H&R Block stock opened at $59.36 on Thursday. H&R Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $42.28 and a 1-year high of $68.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.25.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.13) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $193.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.78 million. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 212.45% and a net margin of 16.19%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.05) EPS. As a group, analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.59%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th.

Insider Transactions at H&R Block

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Dara S. Redler sold 9,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total transaction of $583,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,414,430.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total value of $613,166.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 893,169 shares in the company, valued at $56,332,168.83. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 115,927 shares of company stock valued at $7,517,056. 1.30% of the stock is 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.