Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Buys Shares of 19,519 H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 19,519 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,240,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HRB. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of H&R Block by 49.6% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 307,014 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,077,000 after buying an additional 101,742 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of H&R Block in the first quarter valued at $335,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in H&R Block by 42.3% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 49,650 shares of the company's stock worth $2,438,000 after buying an additional 14,760 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its position in H&R Block by 5.5% during the first quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 5,035 shares of the company's stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in H&R Block by 4.4% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 192,763 shares of the company's stock worth $9,467,000 after buying an additional 8,050 shares in the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

H&R Block Price Performance

Shares of HRB traded up $2.08 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $61.26. The stock had a trading volume of 2,188,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,169,220. The company's 50-day moving average is $62.05 and its 200 day moving average is $57.14. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12-month low of $42.28 and a 12-month high of $68.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The company has a market capitalization of $8.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.67.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.13) by ($0.04). H&R Block had a net margin of 16.19% and a negative return on equity of 231.57%. The company had revenue of $193.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.78 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($1.05) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.59%.

H&R Block announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, August 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HRB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, August 16th.

Insider Activity

In other H&R Block news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $515,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,189,910.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other H&R Block news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $515,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,189,910.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.17, for a total value of $5,165,309.03. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 90,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,871,491.15. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 115,927 shares of company stock valued at $7,517,056. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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.