Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Sells 15,128 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board decreased its position in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 52.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,969 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,128 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in H&R Block during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its holdings in H&R Block by 606.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of H&R Block during the third quarter worth $35,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in H&R Block by 4,152.9% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in H&R Block by 2,756.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Price Performance

NYSE:HRB opened at $56.87 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.87, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.67. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $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 issued its quarterly earnings results 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). H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 212.45% and a net margin of 16.19%. The company had revenue of $193.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.78 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.05) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, August 15th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication 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. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 893,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,332,168.83. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 18,474 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,910.34. This represents a 30.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HRB. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on 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 cut H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

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.