Swiss National Bank Sells 2,200 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 272,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,200 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.20% of H&R Block worth $17,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rockland Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of H&R Block by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 16,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,072,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of H&R Block by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $469,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of H&R Block by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 24,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,327,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of H&R Block by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC now owns 18,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,076,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of H&R Block by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 15,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total value of $613,166.54. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 893,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,332,168.83. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $515,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,189,910.34. This represents a 30.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HRB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Friday, November 8th.

H&R Block Stock Performance

Shares of HRB stock opened at $58.29 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.99 billion, a PE ratio of 14.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.62. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $42.28 and a 12 month high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.13) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $193.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.78 million. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 212.45% and a net margin of 16.19%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.05) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is 36.59%.

About H&R Block

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.