H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Shares Acquired by Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,413 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,194 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $890,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. True Vision MN LLC purchased a new position in shares of H&R Block in the second quarter valued at $340,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in H&R Block by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,484,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,726,000 after buying an additional 23,792 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of H&R Block during the second quarter valued at about $227,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of H&R Block by 6.5% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 91,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,972,000 after acquiring an additional 5,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 116.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 276,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,987,000 after acquiring an additional 148,790 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. 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 research note on Friday, August 16th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th.

H&R Block Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:HRB opened at $64.20 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $8.96 billion, a PE ratio of 14.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50 day moving average is $60.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.68. 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 52 week low of $39.20 and a 52 week high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.05 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Investors 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 yield of 2.34%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is 34.32%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 44,975 shares of the company’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 transaction of $2,453,386.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 712,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,860,656.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $515,280.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,189,910.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 44,975 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 712,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,860,656.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have 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 Company 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.