Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Sells 12,734 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,795 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,734 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. owned 0.08% of H&R Block worth $6,597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HRB. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in H&R Block by 52.2% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,738,190 shares of the company's stock worth $148,492,000 after acquiring an additional 939,270 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in H&R Block by 30.2% during 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. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in H&R Block by 1,630.9% during the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 777,264 shares of the company's stock worth $49,395,000 after acquiring an additional 732,359 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in H&R Block by 39.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,131,451 shares of the company's stock worth $115,418,000 after acquiring an additional 606,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in H&R Block by 11.8% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,295,911 shares of the company's stock worth $260,081,000 after acquiring an additional 558,076 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com downgraded H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Friday.

Insider Transactions at H&R Block

In related news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $515,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,189,910.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other H&R Block news, insider Dara S. Redler sold 9,100 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total transaction of $583,310.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,414,430.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,474 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,910.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 115,927 shares of company stock valued at $7,517,056 in the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

H&R Block Trading Up 3.5 %

H&R Block stock traded up $2.08 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $61.26. 2,188,602 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,169,220. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $42.28 and a 12 month high of $68.45. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $62.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.94, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.67.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $193.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.78 million. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 231.57% and a net margin of 16.19%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($1.05) EPS. Analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. 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 buyback program on Thursday, August 15th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is 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.