UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Acquires 156,856 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 29.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 698,101 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 156,856 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.51% of H&R Block worth $44,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in H&R Block during the third quarter worth $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted 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 worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in H&R Block during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 2,756.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Transactions at H&R Block

In other news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $515,280.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,189,910.34. The trade was a 30.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

H&R Block Price Performance

HRB opened at $58.15 on Wednesday. H&R Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $42.28 and a fifty-two week high of $68.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $60.66 and a 200 day moving average of $58.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $7.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.18, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.66.

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). The company had revenue of $193.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.78 million. H&R Block had a net margin of 16.19% and a negative return on equity of 212.45%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.05) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.59%.

H&R Block announced 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 reacquire up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.