Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $134.73 Million Stock Holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 1.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,484,417 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 23,792 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.78% of H&R Block worth $134,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HRB. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in H&R Block during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in H&R Block by 2,756.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in H&R Block by 4,152.9% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in H&R Block in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. bought a new stake in shares of H&R Block during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

H&R Block Stock Performance

NYSE HRB opened at $64.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.75, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. H&R Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.20 and a twelve month high of $68.45. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.54.

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

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. This is a boost from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is 34.32%.

H&R Block declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, August 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on HRB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other H&R Block news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 44,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 712,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,860,656.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other H&R Block news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 44,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.55, for a total value of $2,453,386.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 712,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,860,656.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 9,846 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $639,990.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,028 shares in the company, valued at $1,626,820. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 160,902 shares of company stock valued at $9,970,442 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.