Merit Financial Group LLC Buys New Shares in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 6,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $362,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRB. Eastern Bank bought a new position in H&R Block during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 606.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of H&R Block during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of H&R Block in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRB opened at $52.85 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $55.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.69. The company has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.69. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $42.28 and a 12 month high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last posted its earnings results 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). H&R Block had a net margin of 16.19% and a negative return on equity of 212.45%. The business had revenue of $193.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.78 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($1.05) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Friday, November 8th.

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.