Wellington Management Group LLP Has $148.43 Million Holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Wellington Management Group LLP lessened its holdings in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 30.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,335,711 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,031,492 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $148,434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in H&R Block by 575.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 37,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,835,000 after buying an additional 31,842 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in H&R Block in the 2nd quarter worth $2,942,000. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in H&R Block by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 8,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of H&R Block by 54.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $861,000 after purchasing an additional 5,571 shares during the period. Finally, PGGM Investments raised its stake in shares of H&R Block by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 69,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,746,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares during the period. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,189,910.34. The trade was a 30.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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 objective on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Friday, November 8th.

H&R Block Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of H&R Block stock opened at $56.01 on Tuesday. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12-month low of $42.28 and a 12-month high of $68.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The business’s 50 day moving average is $60.06 and its 200-day moving average is $58.27. The stock has a market cap of $7.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.66.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $188.78 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($1.05) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, August 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors 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 2.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. H&R Block’s payout ratio is currently 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.