JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 3.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 754,287 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,234 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $47,935,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in H&R Block by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in H&R Block by 29.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 250,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,179,000 after purchasing an additional 57,311 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in H&R Block by 70.1% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 19,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,239,000 after purchasing an additional 8,036 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in H&R Block during the third quarter worth approximately $169,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of H&R Block in the 3rd quarter valued at $201,000. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

H&R Block Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:HRB opened at $53.83 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.13, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.69. H&R Block, Inc. has a 1 year low of $42.28 and a 1 year high of $68.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last released 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 negative return on equity of 212.45% and a net margin of 16.19%. The business had revenue of $193.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.78 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.05) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a report on Friday, November 8th.

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.