PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Has $1.15 Million Stock Position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,108 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,638 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $1,151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HRB. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of H&R Block by 30.2% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,270,919 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,614,000 after acquiring an additional 758,827 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position 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 worth $148,492,000 after purchasing an additional 939,270 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 23,792 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in H&R Block by 39.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,131,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,418,000 after purchasing an additional 606,250 shares during the period. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 1,630.9% in the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 777,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,395,000 after purchasing an additional 732,359 shares in the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on HRB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $515,280.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,189,910.34. The trade was a 30.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total transaction of $613,166.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 893,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,332,168.83. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

H&R Block Price Performance

Shares of HRB opened at $59.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $8.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.67. H&R Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $42.28 and a twelve month high of $68.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $61.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.93.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.13) by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $193.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.78 million. H&R Block had a net margin of 16.19% and a negative return on equity of 212.45%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.05) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. H&R Block’s payout ratio is presently 36.59%.

H&R Block declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, August 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About H&R Block

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.