H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Shares Acquired by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 5.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,936,829 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 255,354 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 3.57% of H&R Block worth $313,735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of H&R Block by 42.3% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 49,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,438,000 after purchasing an additional 14,760 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in H&R Block by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 159,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,852,000 after purchasing an additional 8,132 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of H&R Block by 576.5% in 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 buying an additional 494,457 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC raised its position in H&R Block by 2.8% in the first quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 18,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $906,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the period. Finally, Caxton Associates LP purchased a new position in H&R Block during the first quarter worth about $510,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 $56,332,168.83. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,189,910.34. This trade represents a 30.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HRB opened at $58.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $7.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $61.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.62. H&R Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $42.28 and a 1-year high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.13) by ($0.04). H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 212.45% and a net margin of 16.19%. The firm had revenue of $193.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.78 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($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 announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, August 15th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on HRB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” 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.