CWA Asset Management Group LLC Buys Shares of 11,507 H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $731,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HRB. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 42.3% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 49,650 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,438,000 after acquiring an additional 14,760 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of H&R Block by 270.7% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 16,319 shares of the company's stock valued at $885,000 after buying an additional 11,917 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in H&R Block by 576.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 580,227 shares of the company's stock worth $28,496,000 after buying an additional 494,457 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 24.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 94,270 shares of the company's stock worth $4,629,000 after buying an additional 18,556 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in H&R Block during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $10,581,000. 90.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on HRB. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price 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. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com cut H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th.

H&R Block Stock Up 2.6 %

H&R Block stock traded up $1.55 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $60.73. The stock had a trading volume of 1,258,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,164,618. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $62.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.67. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12-month low of $42.28 and a 12-month high of $68.45. 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 (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.15. H&R Block had a net margin of 16.49% and a negative return on equity of 220.05%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.05 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.55%.

H&R Block announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, August 15th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at H&R Block

In other news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 9,846 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $639,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,626,820. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other H&R Block news, insider Dara S. Redler sold 9,100 shares of the business's 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 owns 22,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,414,430.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 9,846 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $639,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 25,028 shares in the company, valued at $1,626,820. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 115,927 shares of company stock valued at $7,517,056 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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.