H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Shares Purchased by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 47.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 132,663 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 42,934 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.10% of H&R Block worth $8,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of H&R Block during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its holdings in H&R Block by 606.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in H&R Block during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 4,152.9% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 723 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares in the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HRB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com cut H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th.

Insider Activity at H&R Block

In related news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $515,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,474 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,910.34. The trade was a 30.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total value of $613,166.54. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 893,169 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,332,168.83. The trade was 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 company insiders.

H&R Block Stock Up 0.1 %

HRB stock opened at $59.62 on Wednesday. H&R Block, Inc. has a 52 week low of $42.28 and a 52 week high of $68.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $61.10 and a 200 day moving average of $57.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.17 billion, a PE ratio of 14.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.67.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $193.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $188.78 million. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 212.45% and a net margin of 16.19%. During the same period last year, the business earned ($1.05) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.59%.

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

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.