Allworth Financial LP Reduces Stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Allworth Financial LP lowered its stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,646 shares of the company’s stock after selling 829 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its stake in H&R Block by 1.2% in the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 16,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in H&R Block by 2.4% in the second quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in H&R Block by 1.0% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 24,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,327,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its stake in H&R Block by 5.5% in the first quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 5,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axiom Advisory LLC lifted its stake in H&R Block by 1.6% in the third quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC now owns 18,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,076,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Stock Performance

H&R Block stock opened at $59.72 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $62.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. H&R Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.20 and a fifty-two week high of $68.45. The company has a market capitalization of $8.26 billion, a PE ratio of 14.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.66.

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

H&R Block declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, August 15th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th were paid a $0.375 dividend. This is an increase from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. H&R Block’s payout ratio is 35.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total value of $613,166.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 893,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,332,168.83. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total value of $613,166.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 893,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,332,168.83. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.17, for a total transaction of $5,165,309.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 115,927 shares of company stock valued at $7,517,056 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HRB has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Monday.

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.