Royal Bank of Canada Decreases Stock Position in H&R Block, Inc. $HRB

Royal Bank of Canada lessened its holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 20.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 428,112 shares of the company’s stock after selling 109,382 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.34% of H&R Block worth $13,588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of HRB. UBS Group AG grew its position in H&R Block by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 934,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,744,000 after purchasing an additional 150,719 shares during the last quarter. Ceera Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 299.1% in the first quarter. Ceera Investments LLC now owns 42,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,340,000 after buying an additional 31,648 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 543.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 67,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,128,000 after buying an additional 56,613 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of H&R Block during the first quarter worth $1,523,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 634.2% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 254,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,072,000 after buying an additional 219,450 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Price Performance

NYSE HRB opened at $46.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.85 billion, a PE ratio of 8.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a fifty day moving average of $39.71 and a 200 day moving average of $35.68. H&R Block, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.16 and a 1 year high of $55.95.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $6.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.77 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 211.62% and a net margin of 18.90%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.38 EPS. Research analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded H&R Block from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Stephens started coverage on H&R Block in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded H&R Block from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.00.

H&R Block Company Profile

H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) is a leading provider of tax preparation services and software solutions, serving individual and small-business clients through a combination of retail offices, online platforms and mobile applications. The company offers assisted tax preparation at its network of retail offices, where clients work with trained tax professionals, as well as do-it-yourself (DIY) software and online filing services designed to guide users through the complexities of federal and state tax returns.

Founded in 1955 by brothers Henry W.