ProShare Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

ProShare Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,581 shares of the company’s stock after selling 225 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its position in H&R Block by 54.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 71,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,892,000 after buying an additional 25,225 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in H&R Block by 150.6% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 87,618 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,751,000 after buying an additional 52,654 shares during the period. Blue Whale Capital LLP boosted its position in H&R Block by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Whale Capital LLP now owns 742,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,266,000 after buying an additional 92,500 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in H&R Block by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 310,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,842,000 after buying an additional 3,553 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of H&R Block by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,738,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,492,000 after purchasing an additional 939,270 shares during the period. 90.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

H&R Block Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE HRB opened at $62.81 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The firm has a market cap of $8.76 billion, a PE ratio of 14.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $61.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.35. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. H&R Block had a net margin of 16.49% and a negative return on equity of 220.05%. H&R Block’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.05 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, August 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. This is a positive change from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. H&R Block’s payout ratio is 34.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 9,846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 25,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,626,820. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other H&R Block news, insider Dara S. Redler sold 9,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total transaction of $583,310.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,414,430.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 9,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $639,990.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,626,820. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 115,927 shares of company stock worth $7,517,056 in the last 90 days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target 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.

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.