Advisors Capital Management LLC Invests $437,000 in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Advisors Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $437,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in H&R Block by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,253,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $753,143,000 after buying an additional 35,945 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of H&R Block by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,219,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,796,000 after acquiring an additional 282,633 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in H&R Block by 58.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,500,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,814,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660,319 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in H&R Block by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,735,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,527,000 after purchasing an additional 476,892 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in H&R Block by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,050,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,358,000 after purchasing an additional 232,095 shares in the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

H&R Block Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:HRB opened at $61.51 on Wednesday. H&R Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $45.87 and a 52-week high of $68.45. The company has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a PE ratio of 16.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company has a fifty day moving average of $53.96 and a 200-day moving average of $56.26.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported ($1.73) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.59) by ($0.14). H&R Block had a net margin of 14.71% and a negative return on equity of 179.15%. On average, equities analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. H&R Block’s payout ratio is currently 41.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th.

About H&R Block

H&R Block, Inc engages in the provision of tax return preparation solutions, financial products and small business solutions. The company was founded by Henry W. Bloch and Richard A. Bloch on January 25, 1955, and is headquartered in Kansas City, MO.