Dara S. Redler Sells 9,100 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Stock

H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) insider Dara S. Redler sold 9,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total value of $583,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,414,430.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

H&R Block Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of HRB opened at $63.62 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $55.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.68. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.70 and a 12-month high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 224.81% and a net margin of 17.87%. H&R Block’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.05 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock 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 repurchase up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. This is a boost from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th.

Institutional Trading of H&R Block

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in H&R Block by 11.8% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,295,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,081,000 after purchasing an additional 558,076 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of H&R Block by 30.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,270,919 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,614,000 after purchasing an additional 758,827 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,738,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,492,000 after buying an additional 939,270 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of H&R Block by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,484,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,726,000 after buying an additional 23,792 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in H&R Block by 39.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,131,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,418,000 after buying an additional 606,250 shares in the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.