Quarry LP Takes $85,000 Position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,738,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,492,000 after buying an additional 939,270 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its position in H&R Block by 30.2% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,270,919 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,614,000 after acquiring an additional 758,827 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 39.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,131,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,418,000 after acquiring an additional 606,250 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in H&R Block by 11.8% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,295,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,081,000 after purchasing an additional 558,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of H&R Block by 576.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 580,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,496,000 after purchasing an additional 494,457 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at H&R Block

In other news, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.17, for a total value of $5,165,309.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 90,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,871,491.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other H&R Block news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 9,846 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 25,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,626,820. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.17, for a total transaction of $5,165,309.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 90,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,871,491.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 115,927 shares of company stock valued at $7,517,056 over the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HRB. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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 note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th.

H&R Block Stock Down 0.4 %

HRB stock opened at $62.81 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $61.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.35. The stock has a market cap of $8.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.37, a PEG ratio of 0.98 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.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. H&R Block had a net margin of 16.49% and a negative return on equity of 220.05%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.05 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, August 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

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

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.