Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 255,354 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,936,829 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 255,354 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 3.57% of H&R Block worth $313,735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners raised its position in H&R Block by 30.2% in 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 during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in H&R Block by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,738,190 shares of the company's stock worth $148,492,000 after purchasing an additional 939,270 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in H&R Block by 1.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,484,417 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,726,000 after purchasing an additional 23,792 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $115,418,000 after purchasing an additional 606,250 shares during the period. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in shares of H&R Block by 1,630.9% in 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 buying an additional 732,359 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company's stock.

H&R Block Trading Up 2.5 %

HRB traded up $1.43 on Friday, hitting $58.30. The company had a trading volume of 1,569,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,518,420. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $61.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 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 company has a market cap of $7.99 billion, a PE ratio of 14.22, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.67.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($1.17) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.13) by ($0.04). H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 212.45% and a net margin of 16.19%. The company had revenue of $193.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $188.78 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.05) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.59%.

H&R Block announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, August 15th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com cut H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target 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.

Insider Transactions at H&R Block

In other H&R Block news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 owns 893,169 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,332,168.83. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 value of $515,280.00. Following 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 30.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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.