Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 113.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,614 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,571 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in H&R Block during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of H&R Block by 606.1% during the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of H&R Block during the third quarter worth $34,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in H&R Block in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in H&R Block in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total value of $613,166.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 893,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,332,168.83. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $515,280.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,189,910.34. The trade was 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.

H&R Block Stock Performance

Shares of HRB opened at $59.62 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.17 billion, a PE ratio of 14.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.67. H&R Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $42.28 and a 52-week high of $68.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.13) by ($0.04). H&R Block had a net margin of 16.19% and a negative return on equity of 212.45%. The company had revenue of $193.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.78 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($1.05) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.59%.

H&R Block announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, August 15th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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.