CIBC Asset Management Inc Reduces Stock Position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

CIBC Asset Management Inc lessened its holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,900 shares of the company’s stock after selling 307 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HRB. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in H&R Block by 42.3% in the first 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 in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in H&R Block by 270.7% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 16,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $885,000 after acquiring an additional 11,917 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 494,457 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in H&R Block by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 156,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,547,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey Wright & Associates acquired a new position in H&R Block in the fourth quarter valued at $1,096,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at H&R Block

In other H&R Block news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 9,846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $639,990.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 25,028 shares in the company, valued at $1,626,820. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other H&R Block news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 9,846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $639,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,626,820. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 44,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.55, for a total transaction of $2,453,386.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 712,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,860,656.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 152,902 shares of company stock valued at $9,455,162 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on HRB. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th.

H&R Block Price Performance

Shares of HRB opened at $62.86 on Tuesday. H&R Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.78 and a fifty-two week high of $68.45. The company has a market capitalization of $8.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. H&R Block had a net margin of 16.49% and a negative return on equity of 220.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.05 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current year.

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

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. This is a positive change from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. H&R Block’s payout ratio is 34.32%.

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.