Empirical Finance LLC Takes $462,000 Position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Empirical Finance LLC acquired a new stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 8,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $462,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 58,628 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,097,000 after purchasing an additional 12,390 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in H&R Block during the third quarter worth $1,821,000. Algert Global LLC boosted its stake in H&R Block by 413.1% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 72,110 shares of the company's stock worth $4,583,000 after acquiring an additional 58,057 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in H&R Block by 5.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,936,829 shares of the company's stock worth $313,735,000 after acquiring an additional 255,354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in H&R Block during the fourth quarter worth $362,000. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

H&R Block Stock Up 0.5 %

HRB traded up $0.29 during trading on Friday, hitting $52.62. 1,219,215 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,183,164. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The business's 50 day moving average is $54.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.53. H&R Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.64 and a fifty-two week high of $68.45. The stock has a market cap of $7.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.49, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.69.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported ($1.73) earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. H&R Block's payout ratio is 41.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th.

About H&R Block

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.