Millennium Management LLC Purchases 69,347 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Millennium Management LLC raised its position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 356.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,826 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 69,347 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.06% of H&R Block worth $4,817,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HRB. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of H&R Block by 39.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,131,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,418,000 after acquiring an additional 606,250 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP increased its position in H&R Block by 280.5% during the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 39,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,142,000 after purchasing an additional 29,117 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in H&R Block by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 24,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,327,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its position in H&R Block by 54.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 71,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,892,000 after purchasing an additional 25,225 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in H&R Block by 150.6% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 87,618 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,751,000 after purchasing an additional 52,654 shares during the period. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Dara S. Redler sold 9,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total value of $583,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,414,430.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Dara S. Redler sold 9,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total transaction of $583,310.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,414,430.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 90,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,871,491.15. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 115,927 shares of company stock worth $7,517,056. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

H&R Block Price Performance

Shares of HRB opened at $60.90 on Friday. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.20 and a 12-month high of $68.45. The business’s fifty day moving average is $62.02 and its 200 day moving average is $55.10. 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 stock has a market cap of $8.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.66.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business 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 earned $2.05 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. This is an increase from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th.

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.