Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Buys 36,627 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 29,301.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,752 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,627 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $2,336,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in H&R Block by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,738,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,492,000 after purchasing an additional 939,270 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its holdings in H&R Block by 30.2% during 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 last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 worth $115,418,000 after purchasing an additional 606,250 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of H&R Block by 576.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 580,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,496,000 after buying an additional 494,457 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 9,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $639,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 25,028 shares in the company, valued at $1,626,820. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.17, for a total value of $5,165,309.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 90,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,871,491.15. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 9,846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $639,990.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,626,820. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 115,927 shares of company stock worth $7,517,056. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

H&R Block Trading Down 0.4 %

HRB opened at $60.64 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $62.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.22. The company has a market capitalization of $8.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.88, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.66. H&R Block, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.20 and a 52 week high of $68.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.15. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 220.05% and a net margin of 16.49%. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.05 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This is a boost from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HRB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com downgraded H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a report on Wednesday, August 14th.

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.