Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 46,229 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 18.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 296,509 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 46,229 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of H&R Block worth $15,668,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in H&R Block by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 11,169 shares of the company's stock valued at $710,000 after buying an additional 2,645 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of H&R Block by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 17,982 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 2,803 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 2.0% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 62,859 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,997,000 after purchasing an additional 1,212 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 5.4% in the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,586 shares of the company's stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in H&R Block during the third quarter valued at $1,821,000. Institutional investors own 90.14% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on HRB. StockNews.com cut shares of H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th.

H&R Block Trading Up 3.6 %

NYSE:HRB traded up $2.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $59.12. 1,922,552 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,323,998. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The firm's fifty day moving average is $53.68 and its 200-day moving average is $56.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.39. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.87 and a 12-month high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 14.71% and a negative return on equity of 179.15%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.32%.

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.