Advisors Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Advisors Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,261 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $437,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in H&R Block by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,263 shares of the company's stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in H&R Block by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,358 shares of the company's stock worth $653,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 64.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 658 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,909 shares of the company's stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of H&R Block by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 6,170 shares of the company's stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other H&R Block news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 53,810 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.28, for a total value of $3,405,096.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 844,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,458,311.20. This represents a 5.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HRB. StockNews.com lowered shares of H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th.

H&R Block Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:HRB traded up $0.00 during trading on Friday, reaching $63.03. 2,141,849 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,347,916. The firm has a market cap of $8.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. H&R Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.87 and a 1-year high of $68.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $54.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.31.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported ($1.73) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.59) by ($0.14). H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 179.15% and a net margin of 14.71%. Research analysts anticipate that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.32%.

H&R Block Company Profile

H&R Block, Inc engages in the provision of tax return preparation solutions, financial products and small business solutions. The company was founded by Henry W. Bloch and Richard A. Bloch on January 25, 1955, and is headquartered in Kansas City, MO.