Intech Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Intech Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 53.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,588 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,188 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in H&R Block were worth $800,000 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. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of H&R Block by 270.7% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 16,319 shares of the company's stock worth $885,000 after purchasing an additional 11,917 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in H&R Block by 576.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 580,227 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,496,000 after acquiring an additional 494,457 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in H&R Block by 24.5% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 94,270 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,629,000 after acquiring an additional 18,556 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in H&R Block in the 1st quarter valued at about $10,581,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LP grew its position in H&R Block by 280.5% in the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 39,497 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,142,000 after acquiring an additional 29,117 shares in the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

H&R Block Stock Performance

Shares of H&R Block stock opened at $59.29 on Friday. H&R Block, Inc. has a one year low of $42.28 and a one year high of $68.45. The company has a market cap of $8.13 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.95.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.78 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.05) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback 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 an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. H&R Block's payout ratio is 36.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $515,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,474 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,910.34. The trade was a 30.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total value of $613,166.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 893,169 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,332,168.83. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on HRB. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com downgraded H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

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.