H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its holdings in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 49.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,669 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,572 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in H&R Block were worth $722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Boston Partners boosted its position in H&R Block by 58.5% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,500,552 shares of the company's stock worth $237,814,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660,319 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of H&R Block during the 4th quarter worth $57,253,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new stake in shares of H&R Block during the fourth quarter worth $25,552,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in H&R Block by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,735,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $144,527,000 after purchasing an additional 476,892 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in H&R Block by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,219,462 shares of the company's stock worth $275,796,000 after buying an additional 282,633 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

H&R Block Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRB opened at $60.03 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $54.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported ($1.73) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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, research analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued 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 2.50%. H&R Block's payout ratio is 41.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other H&R Block news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 53,810 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.28, for a total value of $3,405,096.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 844,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,458,311.20. This trade represents a 5.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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