H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Shares Bought by Townsquare Capital LLC

Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 15.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,855 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,418 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HRB. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of H&R Block by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,738,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,492,000 after buying an additional 939,270 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in H&R Block by 1,630.9% in the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 777,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,395,000 after acquiring an additional 732,359 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in H&R Block by 39.7% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 5.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,936,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,735,000 after purchasing an additional 255,354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of H&R Block by 116.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 276,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,987,000 after purchasing an additional 148,790 shares in the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

H&R Block Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE:HRB opened at $58.15 on Wednesday. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12-month low of $42.28 and a 12-month 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.11. The firm has a market cap of $7.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.18, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.66.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.13) by ($0.04). H&R Block had a net margin of 16.19% and a negative return on equity of 212.45%. The firm had revenue of $193.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.78 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.05) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

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

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. H&R Block’s payout ratio is currently 36.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at H&R Block

In other news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $515,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,189,910.34. This trade represents a 30.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. 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, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a report on Friday, November 8th.

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.